‘NCIS’ season 11: Mark Harmon on Cote de Pablo’s exit, plus a ‘Tiva’ scene (video)

“The Arsenio Hall Show” has proven itself to at least be a solid ratings warrior in its first week on the air, and it now has another distinction to us: Allowing us an opportunity to hear what some TV stars have to say about their shows.

For the latest example, we turn to the man behind Leroy Jethro Gibbs on “NCIS” in Mark Harmon. He’s been the star of the show since the beginning, and in almost some ways he becomes the de facto spokesman in some interviews for people who watch the show regularly. During his chat with Arsenio, there were a variety of subjects that came up in between his early experiences on the show and his life in general (which you can see in the video below). He also talked briefly about the exit of Cote de Pablo this fall which took us and most other media outlets / fans by surprise based on early words of confidence that Ziva would be back for more.

The basic summary of his words is just that the show looks at Cote’s exit now as a challenge to move forward and do even better from here on out:

“We’ve had a lot of changes, and we’ve managed to get better with the changes both in front of the camera and behind the camera. We have another change this year, with Cote leaving, and it’s up to this highly professional group to use that as a springboard, to improve and stay No. 1.”

Of course, Harmon is talking about “NCIS” being #1 in total viewers among non-sports shows, which is an achievement, but one that advertisers care less about.

What may actually be of greater interest here for some than the interview itself is the brief clip that Arsenio showed before Harmon came out on stage, as included a couple seconds more footage between Tony and Ziva where she seems to be going in for a kiss.

This interview comes shortly after CBS released details on Ziva’s exit episode in “Past, Present Future,” which will air a week following the show’s September 24 premiere.

Photo: CBS