Now, Variety reports that Gary Cole is in talks for a major role on the series for season 19. Could they be adding another silver fox to replace the one who wants to depart in order to keep the flagship show of the franchise on the air? Season 18 saw Gibbs in a diminished role when he was “indefinitely” suspended for beating up a man who was abusing dogs and indicated to Director Vance (Rocky Carroll) that he wasn’t sorry. In fact, he wished he had taken it further. The result was that McGee (Sean Murray) was promoted to team leader in Gibbs’ absence, meaning Harmon only had to work a few days a week to shoot his scenes. With the announcement that Cole is in discussions to join the cast for the 19th season, NCIS could be bringing in someone more seasoned than McGee to take over the team, but at this point, that is just conjecture, as Variety also reports that the nature of the character is being kept “under wraps.” If Cole does join NCIS, he won’t be the only new face. The series saw the departure of Maria Bello (Special Agent Jacqueline “Jack” Sloane) at the beginning of season 18 and the shocking exit of Emily Wickersham (Special Agent Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop) in the season finale, so there is definitely a spot to fill—and it should be female. It will most likely be taken by Katrina Law, who guest starred on the final two episodes of season 18 as Special Agent Jessica Knight, a member of the REACT Team, who specializes in hostage negotiations and handles daily high-risk operations with skill and precision. Jessica worked well with McGee and Torres (Wilmer Valderrama), who at this point are the only two remaining members of Gibbs’ team. Cole is no stranger to CBS. He guest starred on The Good Wife and continues to do so on its spinoff The Good Fight as Kurt McVeigh. In the upcoming season of The Good Fight, Cole returns as Diane Lockhart’s (Christine Baranski) husband, who has a major storyline involving the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol when the Paramount+ series returns for its fifth season on June 24. Reps for CBS declined to comment. NCIS airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, but it will move to a new day and time this fall. After 18 years in its Tuesday night time slot, it will be relocating to Mondays at 9 pm ET/PT, where it will lead into the new spinoff NCIS: Hawai’i. Next, Everything We Know About NCIS: Hawai’i, the Newest Edition to the CBS Franchise
