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‘NCIS’ Season 14 Rumored To Be Canceled: Mark Harmon Possibly Leaving ‘NCIS’

By Alexandria Ingham
Published on: 06:55 PST, Nov 15, 2016

NCIS Season 14 has been plagued with lower than normal ratings, and they just keep dropping. While the show is still doing relatively well compared to other shows on the network, there are fears that Season 14 will be the last. CBS had already confirmed NCIS Season 15, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will go ahead. There are also fears that Mark Harmon is stepping away from the show.

Over recent episodes, NCIS fans have taken to social media to share their thoughts on Harmon’s appearance. Fans have noticed that he looks thin, and they fear for his health. Believing that he needs a rest, rumors that Harmon is leaving NCIS have spread.

The show couldn’t possibly survive without Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He has been the firm favorite from the very beginning. The show is already struggling after Michael Weatherly decided to leave the show at the end of Season 13. Fans have already said that they will walk away if Harmon leaves and the show continues to run.

With the introduction of two characters on the team instead of the one, there are theories that the use of Alex Quinn has been to create the love for a new leader of the team. Some wonder whether Harmon will leave NCIS this year, and the show is already setting up for Quinn to take over his position in Season 15. She hasn’t had the best reception, which is standard for new characters on such a long-running show. It took fans long enough to warm up to Ellie Bishop, who still isn’t that well liked by fans around the world.

NCIS isn’t the only show struggling. Criminal Minds is seeing a ratings drop due to the exits of both Shemar Moore’s Derek Morgan and Thomas Gibson’s Aaron Hotchner. While a lot of that has been around how Gibson was fired from the show during the summer and how his character’s exit has been handled, the drop in ratings would have still likely happened had the exit been on positive terms. ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy has also seen drops in the ratings since the exit of Patrick Dempsey’s character, Derek Shepherd, in Season 11, while The Vampire Diaries on the CW has struggled since Nina Dobrev left the show at the end of Season 6.

Fans get attached to the characters from the very beginning. They can’t imagine their shows without the characters they have grown to know and love. Fans don’t want other characters to get to know.

Things may have been different had a new character been added to NCIS for the whole of Season 13. This could have been someone fans got to know in detail and grown to like before the departure of Michael Weatherly. This could be why NCIS is bringing in Alex Quinn now, but it could be too little too late.

Harmon isn’t the only original cast member rumored to leave the show, according to Game N Guide. David McCallum was also rumored to leave after NCIS Season 14. He plays the medical examiner Ducky. The good news for fans is that McCallum has said that he will remain on the show for the time being. He wants to stick with it until his health tells him to stop—or until NCIS is canceled, whichever comes first.

What hasn’t helped NCIS is the show being postponed for two weeks. Last week was expected due to the Presidential Election, but the week before it was canceled for reruns an hour before airing due to the MLB World Series. This week was supposed to be the Season 14 midseason finale, but that will now take place next week due to the scheduling changes recently.

Will NCIS be canceled after Season 14? Could the show survive without Harmon and Weatherly? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Featured Image by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images]

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