Tensions between Mark Harmon and NCIS creator Donald Bellisario were no secret, but one alleged scene took their feud to another level. When Bellisario demanded changes, Harmon reportedly reshot it exactly the same way — then never spoke to him again.
A power move or pure defiance? Either way, it was a turning point in their rocky relationship, leading to Bellisario’s controversial exit. Turns out, the drama behind NCIS was just as intense as the show itself.
Mark Harmon’s silent rebellion: The NCIS scene that ended Don Bellisario’s reign
The tension between Mark Harmon and NCIS creator Don Bellisario was a full-blown standoff. Bellisario claimed it all boiled down to one scene where Harmon’s special agent, Leroy Gibbs was traveling to his hometown to meet his aging father. Bellisario admitted (per LA Times),
I asked Mark to re-shoot a scene. He redid it exactly the same way… and never spoke to me again…I do wish it hadn’t ended the way it did.
That moment became the breaking point. Behind the scenes, Harmon had grown frustrated with Bellisario’s chaotic leadership — last-minute scripts, grueling hours, and constant delays.
CBS took notice. By the end of NCIS Season 4, the network made a call: Bellisario was out. Executive producers Shane Brennan and Charles Floyd Johnson took over, smoothing out the production.
The change wasn’t just about efficiency. The show’s pace shifted, focusing more on character depth. Johnson explained,
Early on, it was kind of a show that moved very fast and had quick editing and a sort of staccato pace…I think in the last year or two, we’ve slowed it down and went, ‘OK, we still like to break barriers in how we edit the show and all. But we also want to try and get you to know these people a little better.
That meant more moments like Gibbs reconnecting with his father, played by Ralph Waite. Harmon welcomed the shift; he alluded:
If we’re working 14-hour days now instead of the 17- or 18-hour days that we were doing, it doesn’t mean we’re working any less hard…We’re just more organized…This has become a very well-oiled machine.
NCIS became a well-oiled machine and a ratings powerhouse. Bellisario, meanwhile, never developed another show. His name stayed in the credits, but his connection to NCIS was history. The show, however, kept thriving. And Harmon? He never looked back.
Mark Harmon’s forgotten military thriller with Sean Connery — long before NCIS
Long before NCIS, Mark Harmon teamed up with Sean Connery for The Presidio — a military thriller that didn’t quite hit the mark. The 1988 film had all the right ingredients: an action-packed plot, a seasoned James Bond, and Harmon fresh off his Summer School success. But despite the star power, it flopped both critically and commercially.
Harmon played Jay Austin, a former military cop turned San Francisco detective, who reluctantly teams up with Connery’s tough-as-nails colonel to crack a murder case. Add in Meg Ryan as the colonel’s daughter (and Austin’s love interest), and you’ve got all the makings of a classic buddy-cop drama, except it didn’t bring anything new.
While The Presidio faded into obscurity, Harmon’s TV career soared. And looking back, Jay Austin almost feels like a Gibbs prototype, just in the wrong franchise.
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