4 Years Later, ‘NCIS’ Is Rewriting Its Future With a Colossal Change

Four years ago, the idea of NCIS continuing without Leroy Jethro Gibbs felt almost impossible to imagine. Mark Harmon’s stoic team leader had been the face of the franchise since the beginning, and when he stepped away in Season 19, there were plenty of questions about whether the procedural could survive without him. At the time, every new episode seemed to carry the same underlying question: What does NCIS look like after Gibbs? As Season 24 approaches, that question finally feels answered.