As Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Mark Harmon was the face of the NCIS television series for almost 20 years. However, Gibbs disappeared early in Season 19 and hasn’t been seen since. The actor has disclosed that his time on NCIS inspired him to take on a new endeavor: writing a book. While it’s still unclear if Harmon will ever return to his legendary role or if fans would have to settle for reliving his seasons via Paramount+ subscription, the news is nonetheless good.
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.
Before Mark Harmon began playing Gibbs on NCIS in 2003, there might not have been much information available about the show’s past, but in the not too distant future, that will ch ange for those who are interested. The book tells the tale of Takeo Yoshikawa, a Japanese spy who gathered intelligence on the American fleet in Pearl Harbor during World War II, and Douglas Wada, the only Japanese American operative in naval intelligence.
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 hilarious turn of events, Mark Harmon’s book about the actual show that preceded NCIS will be published in November, which means it will appear on bookstore shelves nearly precisely twenty years after the show’s autumn 2003 debut. While Harmon did in fact portray Gibbs for the first time in spring 2003 as a part of JAG, the show from which NCIS would break off, he will always and forever be remembered for his role in the original NCIS. Still, he will soon be able to expand his list of achievements to include becoming a published nonfiction author.