Will NCIS: Los Angeles Give JAG’s Mac And Harm A Happy Ending?

ncis los angeles jag harm
(Image credit: CBS)

The NCIS franchise on CBS was brought full circle at the end of the 2018-2019 TV season when David James Elliott and Catherine Bell reprised their JAG roles for NCIS: Los Angeles. None of the NCIS series that are so successful today would even exist without JAG, but the appearances of Harm and Mac on NCIS: LA didn't reveal that the duo had lived up to what could have been a happily-ever-after in the JAG series finale back in 2005.

The good news is that both David James Elliott and Catherine Bell will be back on NCIS: Los Angeles in the upcoming Season 11 premiere, and they'll actually meet in the flesh rather than just see each other via video stream this time. But will NCIS: LA give Mac and Harm their happy ending?

Fans will have to wait to find out for sure, but NCIS: LA showrunner R. Scott Gemmill teased some of what to expect from the JAG veterans in Season 11 to TVLine, saying this:

These people that we’ve grown to like over 10 seasons, we’re seeing where they are 16 years later, and … things don’t always work out the way you thought.

Well, JAG viewers may have gotten to watch Mac and Harm develop their dynamic over the ten seasons of that show, but it's been well over a decade since it went off the air. In NCIS: LA Season 10, Mac revealed to Hetty that she hadn't seen Harm in nine years.

They had stayed together for a time, with the result of the legendary coin toss meaning that Harm would pass on a JAG job in London to follow Mac to San Diego, but retirement from the fight didn't suit him, and he had to get back in action. He was out at sea when he and Mac locked eyes again, via video conference.

Both seem to be doing what they need to be doing, but it has sadly kept them apart, and the reunion that was a bummer to fans who imagined Mac and Harm having happily ridden off into the sunset was arguably realistic. They were driven by their careers. Still, as Mac said, the final chapter of their story hasn't been written yet.

Hey, if that JAG revival does happen -- which would make it a revival launched from the spinoff of the spinoff that it originally launched back in 2003 -- with the original stars on board, that would surely mean they'd have to repair their relationship, right? The ratings for the JAG reunion episode of NCIS: Los Angeles were solid, so maybe there is the chance for more.

R. Scott Gemmill went on to talk about the big scene when Mac and Harm finally meet again:

Their paths get closer and closer as the story unfolds, until ultimately they’re face to face in the same room again. Now, what happens next?

NCIS: LA did just let Kensi and Deeks finally tie the knot, and the inevitable disasters that struck their wedding weren't enough to stop the nuptials. It's possible that Eric and Nell inherited the relationship drama from Kensi and Deeks, what with one of them not being around for a big chunk of Season 11, so perhaps there would be room for whatever NCIS: LA has in store for Harm and Mac.

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 11 Stars Filming With Haircuts And Handstands

Find out when NCIS: Los Angeles returns to CBS for Season 11 on Sunday, September 29 at 9:30 p.m. ET. The premiere is only days following the premieres of the original NCIS (hopefully with a bunch of Ziva reveals and maybe even some Tony/Ziva) and NCIS: New Orleans.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).