Star of “NCIS,” Mark Harmon, reacted strongly to a Thanksgiving episode that co-star Diona Reasonover wrote. This is what he said to her.
Fans of NCIS miss Mark Harmon’s portrayal of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and we’re all eager to find out if Harmon would be interested in coming back to the show. The other actors in the show adore and miss working with Harmon, who was a mainstay. And in one NCIS Thanksgiving episode, he offered his candid assessment. This is what he disclosed.
Mark Harmon said he ‘loved the script’ for this ‘NCIS’ Thanksgiving episode
“Turkey Trot,” an NCIS Thanksgiving episode, aired in 2022 following Mark Harmon’s departure from the show. Actor Diona Reasonover, who has been playing forensic scientist Kasie Hines since season 16, co-wrote the episode. She pitched the idea for the episode to NCIS, and despite their initial disapproval, she persevered.
“I love your writing,” I told [executive producer] Scott Williams, who penned Kasie’s first episode. If you let me, I would adore to write with you. And Reasonover told Parade, “Yeah, bring me ideas.” “And we woven this idea of Katrina Law’s (Jessica Knight) family expansion together.”
Unfortunately, the episode doesn’t go over well for Kasie. She’s held hostage (again) in the episode despite Reasonover’s pleas. “So, Scott was like, ‘We’ve got to do someone other than Knight and Jimmy.’ And I literally begged him. I said, ‘Please, not Kasie, she’s been through so much.’ And he said, ‘Baby, it’s Kasie or it’s nobody.’ So, here we are,” Reasonover stated.
While Reasonover had to adjust her expectations, she helped create a fantastic script — and Harmon approved. Harmon visited the set during filming.
“Mark came up to tell me that he loved the script,” Reasonover added. “I don’t know that that’s the reason he drove up to where we were, so I’m going to say it was the reason. He probably had other people to talk to. But he literally did, I got to hug him and talk to him and catch up, that was great. So, Mark is definitely still present, he gets every script, he’s still an EP, and he still very much acts like one.”
Co-writer Diona Reasonover wanted to ‘explore families’ in the episode
It’s not every day that fans get to see an NCIS episode that focuses on Thanksgiving. Diona Reasonover had high hopes for “Turkey Troy,” which has this synopsis: “After an unknown shooter causes chaos at an annual Thanksgiving 5K, time is of the essence for the NCIS team to find the culprit; Kasie joins Knight for Thanksgiving lunch at Knight’s sister’s house.” Ultimately, she wanted to further “explore” family dynamics with her writing.
“I really love holiday movies … but everybody gets along a little too nicely for family,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “I just think it’s so interesting to get to explore families and what they’re really like. You can love someone even if you don’t always like them. And to get a chance to explore that with Knight was something I was really excited about. We wanted to show the thing that I think a lot of people experience, which is they do not have a Pinterest-perfect holiday.”
Reasonover admitted that she was anxious to be filming season 20 sans Mark Harmon. But in the absence of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, she wished to “explore new characters.”
She remarked, “This is our first season without our amazing leader, Mark.” However, it’s also been fun to investigate fresh personalities, fresh connections, and sort of work out all these new guidelines. It’s been exciting, that’s for sure, and it’s always good to try something new. That’s kind of why you become an actor, in my opinion. Every day, you get to do something new.