Mark Harmon Finally Removed from 'NCIS' Opening Credits, Exec Explains Why He Remained in Them After His Exit

It’s been 11 months since Mark Harmon exited the long-running CBS series NCIS and now his name has finally been removed from the opening credits.

The 71-year-old actor was reportedly ready to leave the show after season 18, but agreed to return for season 19 in a limited capacity as the show was in danger of being canceled without him returning.

Mark only appeared in the first four episodes of season 19, but his name continued to be included in the credits.

Well, the 20th season just premiered and Mark‘s name has finally been removed. The first name in the credits now belongs to Sean Murray, who plays McGee.

Click inside to find out why Mark Harmon’s name remained in the credits for so long…

The show’s executive producer Steven D. Binder previously talked to TV Insider about Mark‘s name remaining in the credits throughout season 19 and whether it would continue to remain in future seasons.

“Those are things that we have not sorted out quite yet, so the answer is we will wait and see. That was a function of the fact that, although the season’s [ended] and Mark will not have appeared in any more episodes, that was not anything that was a decided thing, so he remained in the credits because we didn’t kill him,” he said at the time.

Mark addressed his exit from the show for the first time back in August 2022.