Editors note: There are spoilers below.
Mark Harmon, who played special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs on “NCIS,” officially left the show Monday after 18 seasons.
During episode 1904, “Great Wide Open,” Gibbs and special agent Timothy McGee travel to Alaska in an attempt to seek out a contract killer who was working as a local company affiliate, Fox News reported.
After the case concluded, Gibbs let McGee know that he would not be going home to law enforcement. He told to McGee that he had found a “sense of peace” in Alaska and did not want to give it up yet, according to Fox News.
Gibbs told McGee that he “could not have hoped for anyone better” in a partner for the past 18 years. The show with the two hugging it out, according to Deadline.
HOLLYWOOD, CA – OCTOBER 01: Actor Mark Harmon is honored with the 2,482nd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 1, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images)
Viewers were not necessarily surprised after fans had been theorizing that Harmon was bound to end his run on the show, but The Hollywood Reporter reported that he signed a deal to appear in Season 19 in a limited capacity. (RELATED: ‘NCIS’ Had More Total TV Viewers Than The Largest Democratic Debate Stage In History)
Show-runner Steven D. Binder said in a statement that Harmon’s Special Agent Gibbs has not left and is open to letting the actor decide his role.
“As an executive producer and dear friend, Mark continues to be an integral part of the fabric of the show,” Binder told The Hollywood Reporter. “Our north star has always been staying true to our characters, and that truth has always guided the stories we tell and where those characters go. So regarding the future of Gibbs, as long-time fans of the show may have noticed over the years … never count Leroy Jethro Gibbs out.”
Harmon will stay on with the franchise as a producer.
