Mark Harmon has re-signed for another tour of duty at NCIS giving the series a 16th season in 2018-19. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Harmon serves as Executive Producer on the show as well as for NCIS: New Orleans and NCIS: Los Angeles.
THR also reports that the two-year deal inked by Harmon keeps him as one of the highest-paid male actors on television. A Forbes piece from 2017 showed him pulling down $19 million a year, fifth behind the guys of The Big Bang Theory.
While NCIS isn’t grabbing the numbers it used to, it still grabs roughly 17 million viewers (live/+7 days) making it the 3rd highest rated show on CBS. The show also continues to score high numbers in syndication. CBS President Kelly Kahl praised the storytelling ability of the show along with Harmon’s dedication, “We’re thrilled he is returning as the centerpiece of the show, and we could not be more excited for NCIS‘ 16th season.”
Fans were skeptical after the departures of Cote de Pablo (Ziva) and Michael Weatherly (DiNozzo). Now with the pending departure of fan favorite Pauley Perrette (Abby), can NCIS continue to keep its fan base? Signing Harmon and retaining original cast-mate David McCallum (Ducky) keeps us hopeful.
In other CBS news, five other series received their renewals for 2018-19. The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Mom, Seal Team and S.W.A.T. will all return to the tube.