Don Bellisario, the man behind “NCIS,” was a famously difficult collaborator, and the show’s director first expressed reluctance to take the position.
The first episode of NCIS aired in 2003. The truth about their personalities was revealed when the directors, executive producers, and creators of the beloved police procedural television series met in 2023 to discuss the show. Co-creator Don Bellisario was so “volatile,” according to one director, that he nearly didn’t collaborate with him on NCIS.
Director James Whitmore said he initially refused to work with co-creator Don Bellisario on ‘NCIS’
There are differing views among NCIS directors and executive producers on co-creator Don Bellisario. Bellisario was able to make difficult choices to produce an engrossing series with enduring characters, and he helped to build the program into what it is today. Although Bellisario was important to the show, he was infamously difficult to collaborate with. The Hollywood Reporter was informed by director James Whitmore that Bellisario’s “volatile” demeanor almost prevented him from wanting to work on NCIS.
“Don’s a volatile character,” Whitmore said. “Like a lot of creative people, he’s a Vesuvius of a man. We had done a bunch of Quantum Leaps together, and then I had done a pilot with him that had not gone well. I just said, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’ So, I stopped working with him. But he did JAG, which was very successful, and I did a couple of those.”
When Whitmore worked on 24, Bellisario asked him to work on NCIS. “He wanted me to come over [to NCIS]; against my better judgment, I said, ‘OK, I’ll work for Don again,’” he said. “I started with the eighth episode of season one. I got hooked immediately, and I kept coming back.”
Don Bellisario had issues with Leroy Jethro Gibbs actor Mark Harmon
NCIS creator Don Bellisario didn’t just have issues with director James Whitmore. He also reportedly had problems with Leroy Jethro Gibbs actor Mark Harmon. While Bellisario liked Harmon’s no-nonsense personality, Harmon also wasn’t afraid to express his opinion. Director James Whitmore said Harmon found it challenging to work under Bellisario.
“And so when we got to about year four, Harmon just felt like it was too hard,” Whitmore told The Hollywood Reporter. “He never said to anybody, ‘Get rid of Don.’ He just said, ‘This is too hard to work this way.’ Eventually, the network went to Bellisario and said, ‘Maybe you should work from a distance from it and not be quite as involved in terms of the way you work.’ And so, Bellisario, by the fifth year, was gone.”
In 2008, Bellisario spoke on his alleged feud with Harmon and his departure from the series. According to the LA Times, Bellisario called the feud a “full-blown PR campaign” about poor set working conditions created by Harmon. While Bellisario wished his time at NCIS ended differently, Harmon seemed happy with the change.
“If we’re working 14-hour days now instead of the 17- or 18-hour days that we were doing, it doesn’t mean we’re working any less hard,” Harmon said. “We’re just more organized. … This has become a very well-oiled machine. … I don’t wish to go head to head with Bellisario in the press. … He knows why he left.”
Will Mark Harmon return to ‘NCIS’ Season 21?
When Mark Harmon left NCIS in 2021, some of the show’s creators believed the show was coming to an end. Nevertheless, season 21 of NCIS is scheduled to premiere in 2024. And supporters are still holding out hope for Harmon’s comeback. Does Harmon intend to make a comeback then? Harmon has not made a definitive statement. However, a source claimed that Harmon intends to make a comeback in some way.
According to OK! Magazine, the insider stated, “Mark’s had a good long rest, but he’s a little bored doing the same thing day in and day out and would like to get back to the set in a part-time capacity at the very least.”
We’ll have to wait until 2024 to see if the rumors are true.