A little over a week ago on the 2026 TV schedule, NCIS delivered one of its biggest twists ever by killing off Rocky Carroll’s Leon Vance in the landmark 500th episode. Naturally many fans were saddened by the character’s untimely demise, as he’d been part of the show since Season 5, but showrunner Steven Binder said Vance’s death was necessary to remind people that there are “real stakes” on the CBS procedural. Well, according to Carroll, Mark Harmon, who led NCIS for nearly two decades as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, was not a fan of this creative decision.
Harmon and Carroll go way back, as even before they shared screen time on NCIS for 15 seasons, they co-starred in four seasons of Chicago Hope. So the former has no trouble sharing his unfiltered thoughts with the latter, hence why he said he wasn’t a fan of NCIS sending Vance to the great beyond. As Carroll shared with moderator Matt Mittovich during a post-“All Good Thing” screening held by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation:
He wasn't as on board with the idea as I was. Let's just put it that way. He just felt like, ‘Hey, man, what you brought to this role… almost two decades at this role.’ I think he was speaking from the heart, just like my other cast members too. They just like, ‘No, we don't we don't want this to happen! We don't want this to end! What can we do to make this [go away]?’ I felt like the character who was talking to Vance. It's like, come on, it is what it is, but it's time to move on. And it's a really good episode. It's a good story. So, we've talked and he knows it’s like, you're going to live your life.
Mark Harmon has been gone from NCIS for roughly four and a half years now, but the show, and franchise as a whole, still means something to him. After all, he’s narrating and executive producing NCIS: Origins, and even reprised Gibbs on camera for the premiere episode and the prequel’s half of last November’s crossover. So between that and him thinking highly of Rocky Carroll, I can understand why Harmon wouldn’t necessarily agree that having Leon Vance fatally shot by a corrupt Army CID agent was the right move.
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But it’s like Carroll said, Mark Harmon just has that same attachment to Vance that his cast-mates, both current and former, not to mention the NCIS fanbase, have. And while Carroll’s immediate reaction to the twist was wondering why there was such finality to it, he’s come around, liking both the quality of “All Good Things” on its own and appreciating that Vance’s story came full circle. In any case, the deed is done, and not only will Vance’s death go down as one of NCIS’s most shocking moments, it also gave us the opportunity to see him interact with a young Ducky Mallard, reprised by Adam Campbell, in the afterlife.
Leon Vance may be gone, but NCIS goes on. My hope is that Sean Murray’s Timothy McGee will become the agency’s new director, though the latest episode makes me think that Vance’s permanent replacement won’t be revealed for a while. Rocky Carroll will also continue to direct NCIS episodes, but since this is a show where deceased characters frequently return in flashbacks or hallucinations, I wouldn’t be surprised if there comes a day when we see the actor reprise his role again.
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