The CBS procedural premiered in 2003, and early stars like Mark Harmon, Pauley Perrette and Michael Weatherly are all part of the franchise’s storied history

NEED TO KNOW

• NCIS premiered on CBS in September 2003
• The procedural is one of the longest-running scripted TV shows still on the air
• Season 24 of NCIS began in October 2026, though most of its original cast members, including Mark Harmon, left years earlier

Grab your gear! NCIS is still going strong after more than 20 years.

The show premiered on CBS on Sept. 23, 2003, and has seen several plotlines unfold with major cast shakeups — as expected for one of the longest-running primetime TV shows ever (per The Hollywood Reporter).

Developments include the NCIS cast rotating from its original members — including Mark Harmon, Pauley Perrette, Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo — to a new class of special agents tasked with investigating cases and forming strong bonds with the team.

On Oct. 6, the series returned for season 24. Fans have continued to discover the sprawling NCIS universe through its expansion into streaming and multiple spinoffs, such as NCIS: Origins, which launched its third season on Oct. 6. Season 1 of the franchise’s eighth show, NCIS: New York, also began in October 2026, starring Scott Caan and NCIS: Los Angeles alum LL Cool J.

Whether they’ve stepped back from Hollywood or kept acting and making guest appearances in the franchise, here’s what the NCIS cast has been up to since departing from the original series.

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Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs

Harmon was born in Burbank, Calif., and played Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs for nearly two decades. The character was first introduced on the legal drama JAG in 2003 before NCIS premiered later that same year.

Before NCIS, the actor appeared on other TV procedurals, including Reasonable Doubts, Charlie Grace and The West Wing. Harmon also starred alongside Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis in 2003’s Freaky Friday and its 2025 sequel Freakier Friday. Other film credits include Chasing Liberty (2004) and Weather Girl (2009).

After leading NCIS for 18 seasons, Harmon exited the series in 2021, with Gibbs written off. After solving a case in Alaska, the special agent decided to stay there rather than return to Washington, D.C.

The actor later opened up about playing Gibbs and his departure.

“What has always drawn me here is the character I play and to keep that fresh and to keep it challenging,” Harmon said in a special featurette on the season 19 DVD release, per Entertainment Tonight. “Plot-wise, this character has taken the path that it did.”

He also shared that though Gibbs was no longer appearing on the show, he was “not retired,” adding, “The character is living in Alaska as far as I know.”

Gibbs returned to the franchise in the spinoff NCIS: Origins, which premiered in October 2024, and made a rare cameo during an NCIS crossover event in 2025. (Harmon is also the narrator and executive producer of the spinoff.) NCIS: Origins is set in 1991 and follows a young Gibbs, played by Austin Stowell, during his rookie years. In June 2026, CBS announced Harmon would reprise the role of present-day Gibbs on all episodes of season 3 of NCIS: Origins.

As for his personal life, Harmon has been married to actress Pam Dawber since March 1987. They share two sons: Sean, a stuntman and actor who appeared on NCIS, and Ty, a screenwriter.

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Sasha Alexander as Caitlin Todd

Sasha Alexander was born in L.A. and played Special Agent Caitlin Todd on the first two seasons of NCIS. Her early TV credits include Dawson’s Creek and Friends.

Her NCIS character was killed during the season 2 finale when a terrorist shot her. Since then, Alexander has appeared several times on the drama, including on seasons 3, 9 and 12. She also reunited with Weatherly and de Pablo in 2024 on their podcast Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch.

In July 2012, Alexander recounted the show’s grueling filming schedule. “People don’t realize that on a network show, you make 24 episodes a year — that’s 10½ months a year, 17 hours a day,” she told TV Guide. “It’s hardcore.”

After NCIS, the actress starred on the TNT series Rizzoli & Isles, appeared on Showtime’s Shameless and Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer and landed guest spots on shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Morning Show. She also starred in the films Yes Man (2008) and He’s Just Not That Into You (2009).

Alexander married writer and director Edoardo Ponti, son of actress Sophia Loren, in August 2007. They have two children.

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Michael Weatherly as Anthony DiNozzo

Weatherly, who was born in New York City and raised in Connecticut, played Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo from 2003 to 2016. Before his breakout role, the actor appeared on The Cosby Show as Theo Huxtable’s (the late Malcolm-Jamal Warner) roommate, the soap opera Loving and its spinoff The City and Dark Angel.

Weatherly spoke at the time to reporters about his departure, saying of his character, “I spent a lot of hours with him, and we’ll see if I miss him after a while, but I think I will. I liked him. He had a really great puppyish sense of fun and adventure and optimism.”

Weatherly went on to star on the CBS legal drama Bull, which premiered in 2016 but was canceled in 2022 following sexual harassment allegations against him. In a December 2018 op-ed for The Boston Globe, former Bull cast member Eliza Dushku detailed multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior by Weatherly. After she came forward, the network paid her $9.5 million in a settlement.

In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for CBS said: “The allegations in Ms. Dushku’s claims are an example that, while we remain committed to a culture defined by a safe, inclusive, and respectful workplace, our work is far from done.”

They continued, “The settlement of these claims reflects the projected amount that Ms. Dushku would have received for the balance of her contract as a series regular, and was determined in a mutually agreed-upon mediation process at the time.”

Weatherly issued an apology in a statement to The New York Times, which read: “During the course of taping our show, I made some jokes mocking some lines in the script. When Eliza told me that she wasn’t comfortable with my language and attempt at humor, I was mortified to have offended her and immediately apologized. After reflecting on this further, I better understand that what I said was both not funny and not appropriate, and I am sorry and regret the pain this caused Eliza.”

Weatherly returned to the NCIS franchise in 2025, reuniting with de Pablo on-screen for the first time in 10 years on their spinoff NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Paramount+ canceled the series following one 10-episode season. The two also had a podcast, Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch, which last uploaded episodes in November 2024.

Weatherly married Bojana Janković in September 2009. They have two children together, daughter Olivia and son Liam. The actor was previously married to actress Amelia Heinle from 1995 to 1997, and the exes share one son, August.

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Pauley Perrette as Abby Sciuto

Born in New Orleans, Perrette is best known for playing quirky forensic scientist Abby Sciuto on NCIS for 15 seasons after being introduced on JAG in 2003.

Her credits before NCIS include TV series like Frasier, The Drew Carey Show and Dawson’s Creek and the 2000 film Almost Famous.

Months after announcing she would leave the procedural at the end of season 15, Perrette spoke about her character’s impact on young female viewers during an appearance on The Talk.

She discussed how her character “made math and science … a viable plan” that was “accessible” and “fun.”

“It’s been so heartwarming, and it’s been such a real thing,” she said. “These are real people, who now, 16 years later, have gotten their degrees in science and math all because of Abby.”

Perrette departed the series in May 2018. She alleged in a series of posts on X that she endured “multiple physical assaults” on set and that the “publicity ‘machine’ ” had kept her silent.

In a statement obtained by PEOPLE in May 2018, CBS Television Studios confirmed that the actress had come forward with a “workplace concern” more than a year earlier and that it “took the matter seriously.”

In October 2019, Perrette announced on X that “after a few devastatingly difficult years,” she was returning to the small screen on the CBS sitcom Broke. The series aired in 2020 but got canceled after one season, per Deadline.

A few weeks later, she revealed on X that she was retiring from acting.

In September 2022, Perrette told PEOPLE that a year prior, at age 53, she had suffered a massive stroke, but she was now “super healthy.”

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David McCallum as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard

Born in Scotland, David McCallum portrayed Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard for two decades, from the show’s inception until his death in September 2023. CBS announced the actor died “peacefully” of natural causes at age 90.

Before playing the chief medical examiner and historian on NCIS, McCallum was cast as Illya Kuryakin on the spy-fiction series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., for which he earned two Primetime Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nod. In the years that followed, he also showcased his creative talent by releasing four albums and authoring several books.

In a January 2023 interview with the Emmys, McCallum said he would like to be remembered “with affection,” and his cast members did, including actor Brian Dietzen, who plays Ducky’s protégé, Jimmy Palmer.

“David and I (along with our alter-ego’s Ducky and Jimmy) developed a deep friendship and love of our shared work,” he wrote on Instagram, alongside photos of them. “He was a joy to work with. Always had a smile. Always had something new to add to the page, and ALWAYS had the ability to steal every scene he was in!”

NCIS executive producers Steven D. Binder and David North added in a statement, “From day one, it was an honor to work with him, and he never let us down. He was, quite simply, a legend. He was also family and will be deeply missed.”

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