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Mark Harmon & ‘NCIS’ Bosses: Gibbs Isn’t Just a ‘Cowboy’ in Season 18

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The Season 18 headline: “Gibbs unchained!”


Yes, NCIS big boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) will be bolder than ever when the military crime drama returns for its announced fall premiere. Not that the ex–Marine sniper has ever been afraid to let loose on lawbreakers. He’s fearless in raids. His restrained but pointed interrogations are legendary for eliciting confessions. Even his own Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agents tread lightly around him—especially when disobeying a dictum in his famous “rule book.”

The difference now is that the man who once ordered his team “Hug on your own time!” is getting in touch with those pesky things called feelings, which can be mighty motivators. “He’s still the cowboy we all know and love…but he’s no longer only the cowboy,” says executive producer Frank Cardea.See Also

EP Frank Cardea and co-EP Gina Monreal discuss the finale and tease episodes moved to Season 18.

How did we arrive at this Gibbs? For a start, the stoic leader took an unexpected, arduous emotional journey in Season 17. His heart was cracked open by two important relationships: His presumed-dead daughter figure, former agent Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), made a surprise return, and he became a buddy to kid next door Phineas (Jack Fisher). The two storylines collided tragically when the boy’s mom turned out to be a terrorist Gibbs had to shoot dead to save Ziva. “Those things tend to make people take stock of their lives,” says executive producer Steven D. Binder. 

“The Arizona” — The team tries to verify the identity of Joe Smith (Christopher Lloyd), who claims he served on the U.S.S. Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and wants to be buried there upon his death, on NCIS, Tuesday, April 14 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Mark Harmon as NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Christopher Lloyd as Joe Smith Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS ©2020 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

(Michael Yarish/CBS)

The actor traces his bottled-up character’s un-bottling back to the end of Season 16, when he divulged his deepest secret—that he’d killed the man responsible for murdering his wife and child—to his team and later to a therapist. With Dr. Grace Confalone (Laura San Giacomo), “Gibbs went into personal detail, and I’m not sure he’s done that before. His team only knows part of the story,” Harmon says. “Still, for Gibbs, that’s big progress.”

What with an evolving core character and—let’s face it—an evolving world, NCIS‘s producers are feeling the pressure to deliver big in the upcoming premiere, which CBS is hopeful will be ready to air as usual. “There’s been a lot of discussion. We want to get this right,” Cardea says.See Also

The next milestone will air in Season 18 and focus on Gibbs and Ducky.

No decision yet on what that opener will bring, but one firm goal going forward is to wrap up a mystery left dangling since Season 16. This unsolved crime seemed to crop up in a November episode when Gibbs disappeared for a few days after getting a text. According to Cardea, Gibbs’ explanations for his absence weren’t quite accurate: “Let’s just say he didn’t walk out in the middle of a case because it was sturgeon season or because Emily Fornell [the daughter of his good friend] left rehab. We are looking forward to paying this storyline off.”

“A Many Splendored Thing” — Bishop is more determined than ever to seek revenge for the murder of Qasim, her late boyfriend, after Gibbs and the team find a new lead in the Chen case. Also, Torres teaches the agents the art of pickpocketing, on NCIS, Tuesday, Feb. 21 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Mary Stuart Masterson returns as Congresswoman Jenna Flemming. Pictured: Mark Harmon. David McCallum. Photo: Patrick McElhenney/CBS ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

(Patrick McElhenney/CBS)

As for the Gibbs of today, “as he grows more thoughtful about his choices and actions, that is going to make him more aware of his vulnerabilities,” Cardea says. “How he chooses to react to his new understanding of his weaknesses is another matter entirely.”

Gibbs unleashed, remember? After all, he may soften up, but he’ll never go soft on crime.

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