The Untold Truth Of NCIS

Few people remember it now, but when "NCIS" first spun off from parent show "JAG" in 2003, it was far from a guaranteed success. In fact, CBS was so worried that the show would be overshadowed by the network's runaway smash "CSI" that they actually called the show "Navy NCIS" for the first season in order to minimize confusion over the similar acronyms. Showrunner Donald Bellisario eventually convinced the network to drop the "Navy" part because it's totally redundant: the "N" in "NCIS" already stands for "Naval."

Given the huge success of "NCIS," it seems like a no-brainer that they would eventually have a spinoff. But the creation of "NCIS: Los Angeles" in 2009 actually led to a major lawsuit. That's because "NCIS" creator and former showrunner Donald Bellisario (that guy again!) had a clause in his contract giving him the right to create the first spinoff, but after he was forced off the show, CBS hired Shane Brennan to create it instead. After years of legal wrangling, they settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

Pauley Perrette's feud with Cote de Pablo wasn't exactly a high point for either of them. But while Perrette has sometimes been the subject of real-world drama, she's done her best to turn lemons into lemonade by using those events as a platform for advocacy. In 2006, in an attempt to help women suffering from domestic abuse, she publicly revealed that her former husband Coyote Shivers had subjected her to years of physical and emotional abuse. And just last year, after she was randomly attacked by a mentally disturbed homeless man, she began championing the rights of the homeless.

Mark Harmon has been the face of "NCIS" for well over a decade now, but viewers could have seen a very different face in the role of Agent Leroy Gibbs. That's because the role was actually offered to Don Johnson first—and he turned it down. He wasn't the only candidate, though; rumor has it that "NCIS: New Orleans" star Scott Bakula was also on the original shortlist for Agent Gibbs way back in the day. Sometimes these things have a way of working out.

In 2015, guest star Diane Neal launched an angry Twitter attack on "NCIS: New Orleans" over safety issues she encountered on set while filming, calling the conditions "dangerous and stupid." After being called out behind the scenes for saying incendiary stuff like "they just use me like a rented mule" and "these folks don't give a damn," Neal apologized and deleted the tweets. This being the internet, though, some sharp-eyed folks on Reddit captured the drama while it was happening and preserved it for posterity. Moral of the story: never tweet angry.

Just like the famous "Law and Order" "dun-dun!" sound used to transition between scenes, "NCIS" uses a similar sound effect, which sounds something like "foof." That sound was made by "NCIS" creator Donald Bellisario personally. When the show was entering production, he knew he wanted some kind of noise to guide the viewer from scene to scene, but he wasn't sure what, so he went into a recording studio and started messing around with a microphone. The one that ended up getting used is just Bellisario tapping on a mic with the palm of his hand.

When Mark Harmon's character Jethro Gibbs is shown in flashbacks, the actor portraying young Gibbs is Sean Harmon, Mark's son. Gibbs' father, portrayed by Ralph Waite, is said to have been a fighter pilot in World War II—just like Harmon's father, Tom Harmon. The opening credits of some early seasons of the show contain footage of an aircraft carrier navigating the Golden Gate Bridge—which was shot for "The Presidio," a 1988 military drama starring Mark Harmon. In another episode, Gibbs remarks that when he was younger, Ducky looked like "Ilya Kuryakin." For viewers not familiar with classic '60s TV, Ilya Kuryakin is the name of a character played by Ducky's current portrayer, David McCallum, on "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

"NCIS" has always been an ensemble show, but there's no mistaking that the star is Mark Harmon, and for good reason—he's a commanding presence even with a character who's a man of few words. Leroy Jethro Gibbs doesn't talk any more than he has to, and Harmon can convey more with a glance or a nod than some actors manage with a monologue. In fact, it's hard for writers, especially new ones, to figure out how to write dialogue for the character. Sometimes, before a script is finalized, writers will do a "Gibbs pass" to determine what, if any, dialogue can be edited down...or edited out completely in favor of non-verbal actions.

Every few episodes, Gibbs rattles off yet another one of his "Gibbs' Rules"—succinct bits of advice he believes are the ideal parameters by which one ought to live one's life, both on and off the job. In one episode, he mentions he's come up with "about 50" of these rules, but so far he's only shared slightly less than 40 with his NCIS compatriots. Among Gibbs's sage wisdom:

"Never be unreachable."

"Always wear gloves at a crime scene."

"Always be specific when you lie."

"Never take anything for granted."

"Never go anywhere without a knife."

"It's better to ask forgiveness than ask permission."

One of the perks of holding a high rank in the real-life Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or the U.S. Navy: the possibility of a cameo on "NCIS". In 2005, around the time that he retired from the post he'd held for eight years, NCIS director David Brant guest-starred on an episode as "NCIS Special Agent David Brant." His successor as director, Thomas Betro, succeeded him on TV as well, making a brief appearance on a 2007 "NCIS" episode as "Coffee Man." Ray Mabus served as Secretary of the Navy from May 2009 to early 2017, a tenure that included an appearance on a 2009 episode of "NCIS" as an agent named "Ray."

In Season 3, Thomas Morrow (Alan Dale) was out as "NCIS" director, and in came Jenny Shepard. The character shared some history with Gibbs, in that the two were once professional partners as well as a couple. That mirrors (at least work-wise) the relationship between the actors who portray Shepard and Gibbs — Lauren Holly and Mark Harmon, respectively. Years before "NCIS," the two were both cast members on the '90s CBS medical drama "Chicago Hope," and it's that connection that scored Holly the role of Shepard. "As I understood it, they were having some trouble casting the part," Holly told her official website (via MikeWeatherly.com), "and Mark thought I might fit the bill." He arranged a meeting for Holly with the show's creator, Donald Bellisario, and she landed the part, which was initially supposed to just be a six-episode arc before it turned into a three-season run. After about four dozen episodes, writers killed off Jenny Shepard because Holly wanted to leave the show — she'd grown "bored" with the character and wanted to move on to other things.

Most huge TV shows extend their cultural impact beyond just hundreds of episodes, offering hardcore fans merchandise. It's tough for an adult-oriented crime drama to sell ancillary items, but "NCIS" had cash registers ringing for a while, with CBS's website (according to The Wrap) offering for sale a version of the show's "Bert the Farting Hippo" novelty.

He's a cute hippopotamus puppet based on the one that Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) kept at her work station, but which offered a little something extra in that it made fart sounds, just like the one seen on around a dozen episodes of "NCIS." In 2002, Folkmanis, a company which produces a wide line of stuffed animal-type puppets for toy stores and gift shops, introduced a hippo, which "NCIS" prop masters used on TV with little alteration other than dubbing in farting sounds in post-production. CBS eventually commissioned a more accurate, branded replica of Bert from Folkmanis, and the toymaker added a spiked collar and a soundbox. Then, according to a lawsuit filed in 2014, CBS's merchandiser went around Folkmanis and sought out a company in China to make Bert the Farting Hippo toys that the network could sell at a greater profit, and then ended its arrangement with Folkmanis. The puppet company wanted more than $700,000, and the suit was settled out of court in 2016.

Connected properties are all the rage in movies of course, what with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the D.C. Extended Universe, among others, but it's a thing in TV, too. A number of the CW's superhero shows share a common fake reality, while "NCIS" is also the connecting point for a number of television shows, past and present. As it's been on the air for nearly 20 highly-watched years now, it's easy to forget that "NCIS" was a spinoff of another, less popular military drama also created by Donald P. Bellisario called "JAG," which aired from 1995 to 2005. "NCIS" itself spun off "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "NCIS: New Orleans," and Mark Harmon reprised his role of Jethro Leroy Gibbs on the latter, as well as on "JAG." Characters from "NCIS: Los Angeles" guest starred on CBS's "Hawaii Five-O," a remake of a 1968-1980 series which crossed over with CBS's "Magnum P.I." remake. That puts all of those shows in the same universe, where it also resides alongside "Family Guy." In the 2012 episode of the animated series, news anchor Tom Tucker becomes an actor and lands a gig on "NCIS;" Harmon plays himself playing Gibbs.

With about 400 episodes of reliable and satisfying television with high production values and star power filmed and ready to go, "NCIS" is an attractive option for worldwide TV syndicators. The show airs in Australia, France, and Japan, among other countries. It's a particular draw in the latter, where Fox Japan promoted the debut of the eleventh season's slate of episodes in January 2014 with a rerun marathon. This wasn't the typical all-day bundle of episodes typical of American cable networks. Instead, Fox Japan aired the first ten seasons of "NCIS" in their entirety and in order. It took a full 10 days to air all 234 episodes, a period which coincided with the New Year's holiday. The event also earned Fox Japan and "NCIS" a literal spot in the record books — the stunt was a shot at the Guinness World Record for "longest uninterrupted transmission of a TV series."

"NCIS" is objectively one of the most popular shows on TV right now, if not of all time. And as a spinoff of "JAG," it's one of the few spinoffs to outlive its predecessor (more than 440 episodes and counting, compared to a relatively scant 227 for "JAG"). Where most shows' popularity drops off over time, that's just not true for "NCIS." In its seventh season, it became the most-watched scripted show on broadcast television. In its tenth season, it surpassed the two reality-based shows in front of it — "Sunday Night Football" and "American Idol" — to become the number one show on network TV. In the 2021-2022 television season, Season 19 of "NCIS" was the third most-watched show overall and the most-watched scripted show on the air.

However, as much as viewers love it, "NCIS" hasn't won very many awards. Not surprisingly, the show has been nominated for nine People's Choice Awards, but it's never scooped any. And at the Emmy Awards, "NCIS" has been nominated just three times; twice for stunt performers and once for outstanding guest actor in a drama series (Charles Durning, for the 2004 episode "Call of Silence"). It didn't win any of those, either.

Sean Murray joined the world of "NCIS" early in its first season as field agent Timothy McGee. As of 2022, he's still on the show, and with the departure of longtime headliner Mark Harmon, he's now the top-billed actor in the opening credits. It's a little odd that he came late to the series (introduced as a guest star in Season 1 before becoming a full-time cast member in Season 2) when you consider his tight family connection to the show's creative brain trust.

In 1998 (per IMDb), Murray's mother, Vivienne Lee, married Donald P. Bellisario, who at the time was working as a writer and executive producer on the procedural drama he created, "JAG." In 2003, "JAG" launched a spinoff, "NCIS," meaning Bellisario's creation wound up starring his stepson. Other members of the family have also appeared on "NCIS." Murray's stepbrother Michael Bellisario guest-starred on four episodes as Charles "Chip" Sterling in 2005, and stepsister Troian Bellisario showed up on the series that same year as Sarah McGee, Timothy McGee's sister.

Mark Harmon was already a big TV star when he first signed on to play Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs on "NCIS" in 2003. It became one of the most-watched shows on television, and Harmon was the designated face of the series and the interconnected "NCIS" franchise. As such, it was major news when the actor left "NCIS" in 2021. So synonymous was Harmon with the show that his name remained at the top of the opening credits for nearly a year after his final "NCIS" acting appearance.

In the universe of the show, Gibbs traveled to Alaska to work a case and decided to stay there, an ending that Harmon felt was natural and earned. "What has always drawn me here is the character I play and to keep it fresh and to keep it challenging," Harmon said on an "NCIS" Season 19 DVD featurette (via Entertainment Tonight). "Plot-wise, this character has taken the path that it did." He went on to say that Gibbs is "not retired," he's just "living in Alaska, as far as I know."

"NCIS" has proven very popular and profitable for CBS, with geographically different offshoots of the original version each running for years to high viewership figures, including "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "NCIS: New Orleans." The latest addition to the family is "NCIS: Hawaii," which is filmed on location and takes full advantage of the stunning scenery. Most of these spinoffs were launched via a so-called "backdoor pilot" episode of the "NCIS" flagship show, introducing the new characters and new situations but linking them to the same TV universe as the original series. "NCIS: Hawaii," which stars Vanessa Lachey as Special Agent Jane Tennant, wasn't presented in such a manner, instead debuting as a standalone series on CBS in the fall of 2021.

Only after it had established itself as a series did its characters interact with other members of the "NCIS" realm, with Jane popping up on two episodes of the original "NCIS" in the spring of 2022. The two shows then staged a crossover to kick off the fall 2022 season. Both crews team up to solve one crime, with the story being told over both shows during a single night of television. Lachey shines in the lead role on "NCIS: Hawaii," but fans have already fallen in love with the other characters, particularly Lucy Tara (Yasmine Al-Bustami) and Kate Whistler (Tori Anderson). The two women are romantically involved on the show, and their relationship has gone down very well with queer fans of the "NCIS" franchise.