Mark Harmon was the face of the NCIS franchise for nearly two decades with his portrayal of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but he departed in early Season 19 and Gibbs hasn't been seen since. While there's still no hard answer about whether Harmon will ever reprise his iconic role or fans will have to settle for revisiting his seasons via Paramount+ subscription, the actor has revealed that his time on NCIS motivated him to embark on a new project: writing a book.
The former NCIS star joined forces to write the book with Leon Carroll, Jr., a technical advisor for the show who also formerly worked as a real-life NCIS agent. The book, called Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor, is a nonfiction project centered on the Office of Naval Intelligence, which was the predecessor to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Mark Harmon shared in a statement (via TVLine) why he wanted to tell the story:
I feel compelled to take part in opening up the history and real story of what became NCIS. When I first started this show, there was not much information to be found by research. NCIS agents are public servants at the highest level and many have come and gone through this life with no one knowing anything about who they are or what they do. And now that story gets told. All because of a TV show.
There may not have been much information about the history of NCIS before Mark Harmon started playing Gibbs in 2003, but that won't have to be the case for interested parties in the not-too-distant future. The book chronicles the story of the only Japanese American agent in naval intelligence, named Douglas Wada, and a Japanese spy by the name of Takeo Yoshikawa who gathered information on the U.S. fleet in Pearl Harbor, all circa World War II.
According to Harmon's co-author Leon Carroll Jr., the book will provide readers with "a different look at NCIS as an agency and that we are much more than the homicide-of-the-week" and is meant to be "the first in a series that will give an inside look into the inner workings of accomplishing that mission." Ghosts of Honolulu is currently set for a November release.
Depending on whether or not the WGA writers strike is resolved in time for a normal fall TV season, Mark Harmon's book may be available sooner than Season 21 premieres to pick up on the dark cliffhanger for Torres! Whether or not Harmon will step away from the page to reprise his role as Gibbs remains to be seen. Harmon is still attached to NCIS as an executive producer, and the franchise has shouted Gibbs out a number of times since his departure, including NCIS: Hawai'i revealing an important connection to the character.
In a fun twist, Mark Harmon's book about the real-life predecessor to NCIS getting a November release means that it will hit shelves almost exactly twenty years after NCIS premiered in fall of 2003. Of course, he actually played Gibbs for the first time in spring 2003 as part of JAG, from which NCIS would spin off, but Harmon will forever and always be associated with starring in the very first NCIS show. Still, he will soon be able to add his status as a published nonfiction author to his list of accomplishments.
