30 REASONS TO GET EXCITED ABOUT FALL
1 NCIS!
THE SEASON 18 headline: “Gibbs unchained!” Yes, NCIS big boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) will be bolder than ever when the military crime drama returns for its announced fall premiere. Not that the ex–Marine sniper has ever been afraid to let loose on lawbreakers. He’s fearless in raids. His restrained but pointed interrogations are legendary for eliciting confessions. Even his own Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agents tread lightly around him—especially when disobeying a dictum in his famous “rule book.” The difference now is that the man who once ordered his team “Hug on your own time!” is getting in touch with those pesky things called feelings, which can be mighty motivators. “He’s still the cowboy we all know and love…but he’s no longer only the cowboy,” says executive producer Frank Cardea.
How did we arrive at this Gibbs? For a start, the stoic leader took an unexpected, arduous emotional journey in Season 17. His heart was cracked open by two important relationships: His presumeddead daughter figure, former agent Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), made a surprise return, and he became a buddy to kid next door Phineas (Jack Fisher). The two storylines collided tragically when the boy’s mom turned out to be a terrorist Gibbs had to shoot dead to save Ziva. “Those things tend to make people take stock of their lives,” says executive producer Steven
