NCIS season 15: Amidst ‘rumors,’ what’s next for Mark Harmon’s Gibbs?

If you’ve visited CarterMatt often, you know that we’ve aired out many a frustration when it comes to rumors regarding NCIS and Mark Harmon’s Gibbs. It has nothing to do with the show itself or Harmon, but rather media outlets who claim that they have inside knowledge based on some reports from six months ago that his health is failing and he may not return.

For some of those people still writing about said rumors and needlessly upsetting fans of the show, think of it this way: If his health was bad, why would he be coming back at all? Also, why would cite CarterMatt as saying that the character could have a different role as proof that he’s somehow on his way out the door? The only thing that we’ve said in the past is that Gibbs could eventually evolve into a different position given that there are so many people that he can send out into the field these days. That does not mean we think he’s leaving the show and it has never meant that we think he has health issues.

Our personal favorite example of the ridiculousness of the NCIS rumor cycle is how other publications source us ripping them for being inaccurate / purposefully misleading readers for the sake of click traffic.

We don’t want to be completely unfair here, so let’s spend a moment being devil’s advocate. In the event that Harmon were to leave the show, that’s his decision. That’s not something to speculate over, and outing someone’s illness is tantamount to a complete invasion of privacy. There are no actual sources saying anything on the subject, and Mark was clearly well enough to take on a pretty intense finale episode earlier this year. Also, CarterMatt would never talk about someone’s private health issues without the actor or the show specifically releasing a statement – in other words if an actor doesn’t want their health issues (real or imagined) to be public knowledge, then don’t write about it.

What will happen with Gibbs in the premiere?

Our feeling is that he’ll find a way out of the mission that he, Torres, and McGee found themselves a part of at the end of the season 14 finale. From there, he’ll find his way back to America and continue to do some of what he does best. We don’t see him going anywhere, especially with there being casting rumors out there already suggesting that there could be a new love interest for him coming up — something that the character has needed for a while. If that’s the case, it’s awfully hard for him to leave the show and then also be involved in the story at the same time.

If there was ever a time when Harmon was to leave the show, we wouldn’t want him killed off, just as we didn’t want that for Michael Weatherly’s Tony and we still refuse to believe that Cote de Pablo’s Ziva is dead. These are characters we’ve loved on TV for many years, and they are worthy of an opportunity to be properly honored. If Criminal Minds didn’t kill off Hotch, NCIS shouldn’t do that with Gibbs, either. They shouldn’t have done it with Ziva, though we’ve probably said that a thousand times already.

For some more NCIS news…

Head over here to get one of the first pieces of evidence that season 15, airing this fall on CBS, is already filming! We’ll have more news very soon. (Photo: CBS.)