The NCIS franchise is set to return to CBS this fall amid the 2025 TV schedule, with new seasons of the Mothership, Origins, and Sydney, hitting the air. All the while, fans have also been waiting for the new spinoff series NCIS: Tony & Ziva, and the series is set stream with a Paramount+ subscription beginning on September 4. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for the franchise, but this raises the question of what other shows could be in store, and will it ever be taken back to the procedural that started it all, JAG?
Before NCIS grew to be one of the biggest TV franchises, it was kicked off by a backdoor pilot on the military drama JAG, which ran for 10 seasons. Mark Horowitz, who was an EP on NCIS and a co-EP on JAG, previously opened up about NCIS’ beginnings and distancing it from JAG, which was in its eighth season by the time the two-part backdoor pilot rolled around.
Still, some of the actors, notably David James Elliott and Catherine Bell, appeared during earlier seasons of both NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. Elliott, who starred as Harmon Rabb Jr., spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the chances of a revival of his hit show happening, and he seems optimistic:
I mean, there's always a chance. . . . Don Bellisario is still alive. I mean, it's his 90th birthday coming up. Certainly, I think it would be interesting.
Donald P. Bellisario, who produced the original Magnum P.I. and Quantum Leap shows, created both JAG and NCIS. With that, Bellisario birthed a whole world filled with characters and stories that fans have come to know and love. David James Elliot also acknowledged that the nearly 90-year-old Bellisario is still around as well. All in all, it sounds like Elliot would certainly be down to return as Harmon. Perhaps he could even get on-screen love interest Bell in the picture, too.
That being said, just because a show is revived or rebooted does not mean it would follow the same characters and be a direct continuation of its predecessor. Elliott is aware of that fact and knows how the business works. Regardless, I love the fact that he would be interested in seeing JAG make a comeback:
I would be down for it, but I don't know if it involves me. You know those reboots, they go, 'Yeah, thank you. We got new guys!'
Elliott does make a good point, because it’s hard to say if a theoretical revival would even include any of the OG cast members. Still, it's comforting to know that he'd be game to return if presented with the opportunity. It would be fun to see Harmon back and to see what he’s doing now. As of NCIS: LA, the character was serving as the Executive Officer of USS Allegiance. I'd also love to receive an update on the status of Catherine Bell’s Mac, especially because Harm and Mac's relationship had always been a bit complicated.
At the very least, even if there isn’t a JAG revival in the future, original cast members could always appear on NCIS or its many spinoffs. For now, select episodes of JAG are streaming on Paramount+ in the meantime, and some seasons are streaming for free on Pluto TV.
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