NCIS stars Mark Harmon and Sean Murray are in their 18th season working together on the popular CBS procedure. During his years playing Agents Leroy Gibbs and Tim McGee, there was an interesting parallel between the show and real life.
Murray says that Harmon was his mentor as an actor, just as Gibbs taught McGee some things.
Sean Murray credits Mark Harmon for the success of ‘NCIS’
The cast and crew of NCIS it recently reached an important milestone when the 400th episode of police drama was aired. It is extremely rare that a scripted series lasts that long, and Murray credits Harmon for the show’s success.
“We wouldn’t be here, 16 years later, if it weren’t for Harmon,” Murray told Country Living in 2019. “Harmon is a very special individual.”
Murray describes Harmon as “a real actor” who “seeks the reality of it, the truth of it”. He says that every actor strives to do that. “Boy, he’s good at this,” says Murray of Harmon.
Harmon has been at the front and center as the star of NCIS since the pilot episode in 2003. Murray also appeared in season one as a recurring character before joining the cast full-time in season two.
At this point, Murray says he is so familiar with McGee that he can turn it on and off. He says that the way he approached the character has evolved as the series has evolved. He started with some ideas and background for the character, and now it’s all about “vibrating” and finding your way through it.
Sean Murray and Mark Harmon worked together ten years before ‘NCIS’
When Murray was just 15, he was on a program called West Harts. The 90s western should have an episode featuring Jeff Bridges. But due to a scheduling conflict, they had to find someone else to come in and play the “drunk radio clown”.
“And they asked Harmon to come and do the part … that I will never forget. That’s where I first met Harmon. And he impressed me even then, ”recalls Murray.
RELATED: ‘NCIS’: Sean Murray Talks How to Turn McGee On and Off and Being Guided by Mark Harmon
The actor told the ladies of The conversation in 2017 that he remembers Harmon leaving “a big impression” on him when he was a young teenager. He says they didn’t spend much time together in the episode. But when Murray came to NCIS, he says Harmon remembers him “after all those years”.
CBS delayed season 18 again
As fans know, the start of season 18 began with a shocking, cold opening in which Gibbs shot McGee twice while trying to prevent a plane from taking off. But after those opening minutes, the show has yet to revisit history because they went back in time to the past.
It has been a challenge to put the 18th season on the air in the middle of the pandemic. The cast and crew were unable to work until September, which postponed their debut until November.
RELATED: 18th season of ‘NCIS’: Why did Gibbs shoot McGee? Don’t expect to find out soon
So, after the first two episodes aired, CBS jumped a week before it aired in episode 3. Now, according to Express, the 18th season, episode 4 entitled “Sunburn” does not air until next year.
There are also conflicting reports about the actual date of the program’s return. Some reports say this will happen on Tuesday, January 5, while others say it will be a week later, on January 12. Anyway, CBS airs classic episodes in the meantime.
New episodes of NCIS return to CBS in January 2021.