A lot was made of it two weeks ago when “NCIS” returned for Season 20 and Mark Harmon was no longer in the credits.
After all the teasing that Harmon would make appearances this year, the former star of the show seems to be gone for good.
The audience is not stupid. “NCIS” returned two weeks ago down 42% in the key age demo and down 31% in total audience.
This past Monday, with the Harmon news sunk in, the show dropped 4.76% more in the key demo although it did regain 5% of audience.
But the downward trend is there. “NCIS” now pulls half the audience it had in its heyday. Even with nice cast members, with Harmon the point of this thing is concluded. I suppose CBS could let it drift down to 5 million a week, but after that it’s probably going to be too expensive to produce.
Let’s hope producers have their eye on a series finale this year. “NCIS” is ready to nod out. Is it me? Or is David McCallum (third from right) shrinking in a worrying way?
Here’s the new opening.
