NCIS, co-created by Donald Bellisario and Don McGill, is one of the longest-running programs on television. But its origin goes much beyond its premiere in 2003. Although influenced by crime procedurals like Law & Order and CSI, the CBS thriller is hardly a by-product of those shows. Rather, it is a spin-off of a mid-90s military crime procedural, JAG, created by Donald Bellisario.
However, it is not the long history of the show that fascinates modern-day viewers. After circumventing such momentous events as 3 Hollywood strikes (once in 2007-08 and twice in 2023), a pandemic, radical demography shifts, the launch of the streaming era, and the changing of the old guard at CBS studios, NCIS still keeps going strong and churning out profitable episodes with each passing season.
However, all of it was only made possible by the original keepers of the show: Mark Harmon and his castmates.
The actor who was destined for NCIS
Not many people can confidently claim to be born for a certain film, TV show, a character, or a role. While many have delivered once-in-a-lifetime performances in films and other projects, very few actors have left behind their imprint on a character in a way that seemed to confirm that they were born for that role.
In film, examples such as Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man or Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool may come to mind while in television, actors like Bryan Cranston (as Walter White in Breaking Bad) and Cillian Murphy (as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders) have left behind such impression. When it comes to NCIS, not one but two actors were tailor-made and destined for their characters.
Mark Harmon as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs is a staple reminder of the long history of the show, being its first lead. His right-hand man, Michael Weatherly as Anthony DiNozzo is the other actor who, in the words of series creator Donald Bellisario, was destined for NCIS, claiming, “I liked him from the first moment I met him.”
In a DVD audio commentary for the 4th season of the show, Bellisario claims (via CBUB Database):
I can’t say enough about Michael Weatherly…He started out on NCIS [playing] a character who was just very unlikable to some women because he was just such a chauvinist, and he has gradually over the [seasons] changed—taken his character and softened it.
Despite critics being divided over his goofball personality and fans being irked by his personality in the first couple of seasons, Michael Weatherly went a long way in taking his character and making it his own by giving Tony DiNozzo a complex identity behind his superficially shallow visage.
Donald Bellisario leaves behind an incredible legacy
![NCIS feat. Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo [Credit: CBS]](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/17145009/NCIS-feat.-Michael-Weatherly-and-Cote-de-Pablo-Credit-CBS.jpg "“I liked him from the first moment I met him”: For Donald Bellisario, Only One Actor Other than Mark Harmon Was Destined for NCIS 3")
Unlike the remainder of the television entertainment industry, there is no cap or expiration date on NCIS. The CBS military police crime procedural thriller has kept its fans hooked on the storyline from Season 1, and none other than Donald Bellisario is to be credited for that feat.
With a twist in the formulaic recipe of crime procedurals, Bellisario has not only succeeded in making NCIS thrive in the modern-day setting but also allowed the fans to enjoy one of the best cast lineups with chemistry off the charts.
With Mark Harmon leading the show, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, Sasha Alexander, and David McCallum, NCIS was unstoppable in its rise to the global top. Cote de Pablo‘s addition after Alexander’s exit only raised the show in the modern audience demography due to her incredible character history and relationship with Weatherly’s Tony DiNozzo.
Donald Bellisario’s success is measured by the love that fans have for NCIS, and by the number of spin-off shows that have branched off from the parent series, it can be safely assumed that Bellisario’s legacy will be rooted deep into the annals of television history with NCIS.
NCIS and its spin-off shows are available to stream on CBS.
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