NCIS bosses have shed light on how one major appearance divided fans and forced the show to remain politically neutral, despite its subject matter.
In 2016 then First Lady Michelle Obama appeared in an episode titled 'Homefront,' which saw her meet with Mark Harmon's Leroy Gibbs at the White House about her charity, Joining Forces.
The episode highlighted the real world impact organizations can have on military veterans, but Mark Horowitz, an executive producer on the show, has revealed that although the episode "was a positive thing, and it really came out great, and she was fantastic," it left many viewers upset, "so we didn’t really dive into politics that much".
Charles Floyd Johnson, executive producer on NCIS, also shared that although they "veered away from politics as much as we could," especially during the Trump years (2016 - 2020), the nature of the show forced them to "talk about the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Navy, that kind of thing".
"You could absolutely say that the show is popular amongst people who perhaps are politically conservative or live in more rural areas. But at the same time, we’ll go on a college campus, and everybody there watches the show, even in Southern California," Horowitz added, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter.
NCIS will celebrate 20 years this September. It launched in 2023 as a backdoor pilot on CBS' JAG, and in the hands of co-creators Donald P. Bellisario, renowned for classics like Magnum P.I. and Quantum Leap, and Don McGill, NCIS introduced audiences to the complex world of D.C.’s Naval Criminal Investigative Service – the cops of the Navy.
Mark Harmon was cast as Leroy Jethro Gibbs – but as the showrunners tell it, there was a long list of Hollywood's 'who's who' that they looked at for the leading role, including Kevin Bacon, Patrick Swayze, and Harrison Ford.
"I know Harrison Ford was a name that everybody thought about for Gibbs because he was so perfect," said Harrison, with Susan Bluestein, the NCIS casting director, elaborating that other names considered were Alec Baldwin, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, and even Charlie Sheen.
The series amassed a loyal fan base, and over the years the cast has included Michael Weatherly, Sasha Alexander, Pauley Perrette, and David McCallum.
Sean Murray, Gary Cole, Brian Dietzen, Katrina Law, and Wilmer Valderrama are the current stars of NCIS, and there have been three spin-offs; NCIS: Hawaii is currently in its third season, while NCIS: Los Angeles recently concluded with its final episode and NCIS: Sydney will premiere later in the year.