After 16 Years, the Most Hated Member of a Cult Series Still Denies Being Fired: My Decision

Difficult first years

Spectators have been familiar with the series NCIS for more than twenty years now. First broadcast in September 2003, the detective series ultimately established itself as a sure bet on the American network CBS and continues to break popularity records today. But originally, the program reportedly got off to a rocky start. For good reason, the actors had difficulty working with the conditions imposed by the creator of the series, Donal P. Bellisario, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter last September for the twentieth anniversary of NCIS in an interview with members of the production . Executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson then revealed the working methods of Don Bellisario, who could decide to completely abandon a script just hours before filming began. A method which ultimately cost him his place at the head of the show.

Ultimately, the actors thought they would have two acts or one act, and didn't know what their arc was for the show. They couldn't understand their dialogues. It was a really complicated series at the beginning. And when we got to the fourth year, (Mark) Harmon thought it was too hard. He never told anyone “get rid of Don (Bellisario). He just said “it's too difficult to work this way.” Finally, the network came to Bellisario and said ” Maybe it's time for you to step away and not be so involved in this way of working.” And in the fifth year, Bellisario left.

Try Amazon Prime free for 30 days

A departure still difficult to accept

If we understand here that the production has decided to part ways with the creator of NCIS for the good of the series, that is not how the person concerned sees things. Thus, for Donald Bellisario himself, this departure coincided with his desire to start a new job and move on to something else.

It was just time for me to do something else and move on. I had done enough for the show, so I walked away. It was my decision.

That being said, if the departure of the creator of the series often implies a loss of speed and quality for a program, NCIS has done rather well. The main series has been entitled to 21 seasons to date and has given rise to several spin-offs: NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Hawaii and NCIS: Sydney. In addition, a series centered on Gibbs' youth, entitled NCIS: Origins, is also due to see the light of day soon. And finally, a European spin-off is also in the works.