NCIS Almost Took a Very Different Path

I was reading an interview the other day and had one of those wait… what? moments.

According to Mark Harmon, NCIS wasn’t originally sold as the fast-paced “murder of the week” show we all know. When he first signed on, the idea was that the series would be based on real cases. Real stories. Real investigations. Less TV gloss.

And honestly? That kind of stopped me in my tracks.

Harmon mentioned this pretty casually in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying that early on, the pitch leaned more toward reality. But pretty quickly, it became clear that television needs momentum. You can’t slow down too much. You need stakes every week. You need a body, a mystery, and a resolution before the hour’s up.

That shift is basically how NCIS found its groove.

And to be fair, it worked. Really well.

The show didn’t just survive — it turned into one of the longest-running crime dramas ever. Gibbs became iconic. The team dynamic became the heart of it all. And the cases? They got bigger, faster, sometimes a little ridiculous… but always entertaining.

Still, it’s hard not to wonder what we missed.

A version of NCIS built around real cases would’ve been heavier. Probably quieter. Maybe even uncomfortable at times. Real crimes don’t always wrap up neatly, and they’re not always easy to watch. That might’ve made the show feel more like true crime than comfort TV.

Some fans have pointed out over the years that the forensics started feeling almost magical, especially in later seasons. Screens load instantly. Evidence appears at just the right time. It’s not realism — it’s TV logic. And honestly, most of us were fine with that tradeoff.

The show has always had real-world input, though. Former military members and NCIS advisors helped shape how things sound, even if the stories themselves are fictional. As one of them once put it, it’s the Hollywood version of the job.

And maybe that’s the sweet spot.

Now, with Harmon still involved behind the scenes — especially with NCIS: Origins — it feels like a quiet nod to those early ideas. A look back, without fully giving up the formula that made the franchise what it is.

So yeah… would I have watched an NCIS that stuck strictly to real cases?

Probably.
Would it have lasted 20+ years?
That’s a much harder question.