‘NCIS’ Season 20 Cast: Who Stars on the Show?
NCIS is just weeks away from starting. When Mark Harmon left the show in season 19, it seemed the future might be in jeopardy. Instead, the long-running drama will soon celebrate its 20th season at CBS. Harmon’s exit brings one of the most significant shake-ups to the show’s cast, so let’s look at the NCIS Season 20 cast and what we know about the start of the show’s second decade.
‘NCIS’ Season 20 cast: The stars and guest actors
We know Harmon is out as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and CBS might make it a permanent exit moving forward. Harmon will remain an executive producer on NCIS, but the cast will look slightly different without him.
Gary Cole
The longtime character actor plays special agent Alden Parker. Cole appeared in all 21 season 19 episodes. He took over as the team’s leader with Gibbs MIA at the start of the season and leaving the team early in the season. Cole will also likely replace Harmon as No. 1 in the NCIS Season 20 credits.
Sean Murray
The actor plays agent Tim McGee, and Murray is the longest-tenured regular on the show. David McCallum as Ducky Mallard has appeared in more episodes than Murray, though McCallum isn’t regularly part of the show at this point.
Brian Dietzen
Dietzen’s character, Jimmy Palmer, has been featured in nearly every episode since the actor joined the NCIS cast in 2004. His budding office romance with a relative newcomer could be a big storyline in season 20 (more on that below).
Rocky Carroll
Carroll has played director Leon Vance since 2008. After forming a close bond with Gibbs over the years, he will try to do the same with Cole’s agent Parker in season 20.
Wilmer Valderrama
The former That ‘70s Show star joined the NCIS cast as agent Nick Torres in 2016, and he has been featured in nearly every episode since then.
Diona Reasonover
The one-time newest cast member from 2019 who plays Kasie Hines could appear in her 100th NCIS episode during season 20.
Katrina Law
As agent Jessica Knight, Law joined the NCIS cast for season 19 just like Cole, and she called “All Hands” her favorite episode yet.
What we know about ‘NCIS’ Season 20 so far
The landmark 20th season of NCIS figures to keep the twists and turns coming, but we know a few things to expect.
Law’s Jessica Knight is relatively new to the team, but she already has a budding romance with Dietzen’s Jimmy Palmer. Team romances on NCIS typically build slowly (Torres-Ellie Bishop and Anthony DiNozzo-Ziva David, for example), but the producers and writing team have already expressed interest in fast-tracking the Palmer-Knight relationship.
Former The Fosters star and Meet the Parents actor Teri Polo appeared as agent Parker’s ex-wife Vivian Kolchak in two season 19 episodes. Vivian figures to be a much more prominent character in season 20, with her and Parker on the run after Parker was framed for murder.
When does the season start?
Reaching a 20th season is a huge achievement for NCIS, and the season starts with a must-see episode.
With Parker and Vivian on the run, Parker’s team investigates who might have a personal vendetta against him in hopes of clearing his name. Special Agent Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey) and computer specialist Ernie Malick (Jason Antoon) from the NCIS: Hawai’i guest star and offer help in the episode titled “A Family Matter.”
Meanwhile, the NCIS: Hawai’i Season 2 premiere sees Tennant’s team and NCIS agents Torres and Knight track Parker’s potential nemesis to Oahu.
The back-to-back episodes air Monday, Sept. 19, starting at 9 p.m. ET.
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