‘NCIS’: Pam Dawber Reveals Whether or Not Her Appearance Is Mark Harmon’s ‘Final Love Letter For Fans’
Rumors have been swirling for weeks that NCIS star Mark Harmon is “ready to leave” the procedural after 18 seasons. Neither the actor nor the network has publicly commented yet about his future on the series.
Harmon’s wife — Pam Dawber — just revealed whether or not her appearance on the show is his “final love letter for fans.”
Mark Harmon suggested his wife for the role of Marcie Warren on ‘NCIS’
During the April 6 episode titled “Gut Punch,” Dawber finally made her debut on NCIS as “seasoned investigative journalist” Marcie Warren. Producers had tried to get her on the show for years, but the timing was never right. This time, though, they sent her a character and script she couldn’t refuse.
“They had created this character Marcie. Mark didn’t tell me about it. Suddenly I have an email from my agent and I was like, ‘Oh, poor Harry, my poor agent, here we go again. I’m going to turn him down,'” Dawber told Entertainment Weekly.
“And he goes, ‘Well, you might want to read this.’ I guess they were running names for who they could bring in for it and Mark said, ‘You should be talking to my wife about this character.’ The character is so good. I just fell in love with what they wrote.”
Dawber refused to be a romantic interest
Just like fans, everyone in Dawber’s friend group wanted to know if her NCIS character would be a love interest for Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs. That’s not where producers are going with the character. And that’s exactly how Dawber wanted it to be.
“I talked to the writers and the producers before I signed on and said, ‘If this is a romantic interest, I’m not interested,'” Dawber explained.
They assured her that wasn’t their plan for Marcie, so Dawber agreed to the role. Her storyline is a four-episode arc that will see her character try to find out what happened when Gibbs was thrown off his job.
Pam Dawber’s appearance on ‘NCIS’ is not her husband’s ‘final love letter for fans’
Dawber’s guest starring role on NCIS comes when rumors are at an all time high that her husband is preparing to leave the series he’s starred in since 2003. Harmon is also an executive producer of CBS’ highest-rated drama.
The 69-year-old actor says her appearance on the show has nothing to do with that. It’s not a “final love letter for fans.”
“That has nothing to do with anything. This is just a good storyline. I’m not going to go tip the hat on anything, but they don’t think like that over there. A good story line is a good story line, and honest to God, we don’t even know how it’s going to end,” Dawber admitted.
This is their first time acting together
Despite both Harmon and Dawber being in the business for more than 40 years, these NCIS episodes are the first time they’ve acted together. Dawber says her husband is “so supportive” of her and is a “giving, great guy.”
Harmon didn’t give her any kind of feedback after their scenes together. Instead, she says he gave her “attagirls.”
“I’m proud to be married, and I’m proud of who I’m married to,” Harmon told People magazine. “I’m just so proud of her.”
Will Mark Harmon return for season 19 of ‘NCIS’?
The cast and crew of NCIS have filmed the final episode of season 18 without any public acknowledgement from CBS that they will be returning for season 19. Stars Sean Murray (McGee) and Wilmer Valderrama (Torres) have posted pics on social media from the set of the season finale.
Everyone is keeping quiet about the fate of NCIS, as well as Harmon’s future on the series. But, Dawber may have given fans a hint when she answered a question about her four episode story arc being a “one time thing.”
“I’m not sure it’s over!” Dawber replied.
If she’s not sure her time on NCIS is done, that should give fans hope that neither is Harmon’s.
NCIS airs Tuesdays on CBS.
