MARK HARMON ‘LOVED’ NCIS’ THANKSGIVING EPISODE

Showbiz Cheatsheet recently reported how actor Mark Harmon felt about NCIS’s 2022 Thanksgiving episode—”he loved” it.

“The NCIS Thanksgiving episode, ‘Turkey Trot,’ aired in 2022 after Mark Harmon left the series. The episode was co-written by actor Diona Reasonover, known for playing forensic scientist Kasie Hines since season 16,” Showbiz Cheatsheet reported. “She approached NCIS with the idea of the episode, and while they didn’t like it at first, she persisted.”

Reasonover eventually convinced them to let her in on the “Turkey Trot” script. She opened up about how Harmon visited the set during filming.

“Mark came up to tell me that he loved the script,” Reasonover said. “I don’t know that that’s the reason he drove up to where we were, so I’m going to say it was the reason. He probably had other people to talk to. But he literally did, I got to hug him and talk to him and catch up, that was great. So, Mark is definitely still present, he gets every script, he’s still an EP, and he still very much acts like one.”

Good Housekeeping reported that Reasonover “enjoyed having the chance to experiment with different storylines as Mark took on a separate role behind the scenes.”

“It’s not every day that fans get to see an NCIS episode that focuses on Thanksgiving. Diona Reasonover had high hopes for ‘Turkey Trot,’ which has this synopsis: ‘After an unknown shooter causes chaos at an annual Thanksgiving 5K, time is of the essence for the NCIS team to find the culprit; Kasie joins Knight for Thanksgiving lunch at Knight’s sister’s house,’” Showbiz Cheatsheet reported.

Harmon played a lead role on the show as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. His departure had many people concerned about the future of the show, especially the producers. Movieguide® reported:

“We thought [Harmon leaving] was the death knell. Coming in at 6:30 a.m., five days a week, and being the major character that was the linchpin—that’s pretty tough, and he did it for 18 seasons,” producer Charles Floyd Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter. “He had just gotten to the place where he was getting close to turning 70, and he wanted to spend time with [his wife] and his kids. So he was leading up to it.”

Even though Harmon doesn’t act on NCIS anymore, he still keeps busy.

The actor just released a book with NCIS veteran Leon Carrol Jr. on Nov. 14.  It’s called, “Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, a Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor.” It covers the true story of Douglas Wada, the first Japanese American to work in American intelligence, and tells how the NCIS got its start.