After NCIS: Where Mark Harmon, Rocky Carroll and More Landed Next
Since 2003, NCIS has been a prime-time juggernaut, shadowing a relentless team of Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents through high-stakes cases. Debuting with Mark Harmon, Sasha Alexander, Michael Weatherly and Pauley Perrette, the CBS powerhouse still shows no signs of slowing.
NCIS has been on TV since 2003 and, yes, it is still very much alive. The CBS procedural keeps following a team of Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents as they chase down whatever weird, messy, or high-stakes case lands on their desks. Two decades in, the show has outlasted a lot of its original faces.
Where it started
Season 1 launched with a core lineup that carried the show into the mainstream. The original lead actors were:
- Mark Harmon
- Sasha Alexander
- Michael Weatherly
- Pauley Perrette
- David McCallum (who has since passed away)
The cast really did keep changing
Over more than 20 seasons, NCIS has treated its ensemble like a revolving door. That is not a knock, just the reality of a long-running network drama: people come in, people bow out, and somehow the machine keeps humming.
The big departures that defined the later years
The biggest shift came when Mark Harmon, the face of the show as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, stepped away after 18 seasons. That happened in October 2021, a clean break after nearly two decades of headlining the franchise.
Then, five seasons after Harmon exited, Rocky Carroll left in March 2026. He played NCIS Director Leon Vance, which also meant he was Gibbs' boss for years. Losing Vance that far into the run is one of those quietly seismic changes that only a series with this kind of longevity can absorb.
Bottom line
From its 2003 launch to now, the show has stayed a steady ratings player while swapping out major stars more than once. If you have not checked in for a while, the cast might look different, but the mission is the same. NCIS is still going strong.