Mark Harmon: NCIS Permanently Replacing a Major Character “Made us all a little concerned”
Heading into season 3 of NCIS, which remains one of the most acclaimed installments of the show, series regular Mark Harmon was a little concerned about the prospect of Cote de Pablo replacing an established character. Following Sasha Alexander’s exit from NCIS, the showrunners brought in Pablo’s Ziva David to fill the absence of Caitlin Todd.
Although the main cast wasn’t initially sold on the idea, it didn’t take them long to warm up to the new series regular, who’d prove to be one of the biggest fan-favorites of the show.
Mark Harmon Recounted Being Concerned About Cote de Pablo’s Addition
After Cote de Pablo nabbed the gig of Ziva David on the show, who was set to replace Sasha Alexander’s Caitlin Todd, Mark Harmon recalled being a little nervous. Considering the original cast had already developed an intangible chemistry prior to season 3, the inclusion of a new member, who was set to replace an already established character, was concerning for them.
Chemistry is a big intangible in television. We made some headway over the past two years, and the fact we were replacing a major character made us all a little concerned.
Fortunately, even before the two crossed paths, Harmon was already sold on Pablo’s addition after witnessing her work ethic in the squad room set.
Before I ever knew her, I remember seeing her in the squad room set, and I watched her walk from Point A to Point B after a shot. I watched her tousle the head of the dolly grip and hug the director of photography and continue right on. It’s just what she does, who she is. Cote did nothing other than what she’d do every day.
As the story goes, Pablo turned out to be an impeccable addition to the show, whose character continued to excel in the following seasons.
Mark Harmon Was Apparently Discontent With Showrunner Donald Bellisario
Even though showrunner Donald Bellisario’s decision to cast The 33 star in the role of Ziva David proved to be a home run, the showrunner himself was shown the door after the next two seasons. While the showrunner later claimed it was his decision to part ways with NCIS, per executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson, Bellisario’s way of doing things was taking a toll on everyone, especially Harmon.
Although Johnson clarified that Harmon never explicitly urged anyone to exclude the showrunner, he added that the network eventually stepped in to deal with the issue.
Eventually, the network went to Bellisario and said, ‘Maybe you should work from a distance from it and not be quite as involved in terms of the way you work.’ And so Bellisario, by the fifth year, was gone.
Unlike Bellisario, Harmer and Cote de Pablo continued to work on NCIS for several more seasons, and the former has now returned to work on its prequel, NCIS: Origins.
