‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ Recruits Catherine Bell for ‘JAG’ Reunion With David James Elliott

After news broke last week that JAG alum, David James Elliott would reprise his iconic role from the CBS drama in a multi-episode arc on NCIS: Los Angeles, his former co-star, Catherine Bell will be returning for the series’ season finale.

According to TheWrap, Bell will appear with her former co-star in the May 19 season finale episode of NCIS: LA, reprising her role as Lt. Col. Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie — a character showrunner and former JAG producer R. Scott Gemmill credits to paving the way for “strong female leads” on primetime television.

“Not only is it great to be working together again as friends, but to be able to write for Catherine and have her same character interact with our NCIS: Los Angeles characters now, that’s wonderfully surreal. It feels like everything has come full circle,” Gemmill said.

Bell, who took over for Tracey Needham’s Lt. Meg Austin after the first season and debuted in the 1997 episode, “We the People,” will join Elliott, who will reprise his role as Navy Captain Harmon “Harm” Rabb Jr.

“Bringing Harmon Rabb to work with [the Los Angeles NCIS team] makes for a formidable coalition, and both entities are going to need all the help they can get when confronted with the greatest challenge of their careers,” Gemmill told TVLine last week. “[As a writer and producer] I did the first four seasons of JAG with him, so to be able to work together again in and of itself is great. But to do so with the same character, on our show, this many years later… that’s pretty damn amazing.”

Elliott will appear in “The Guardian,” the penultimate episode of NCIS: LA’s season that finds the team discovering ISIS sympathizers plotting to attack U.S. aircraft carriers. The case results in Callen (Chris O’Donnell) and Sam (LL Cool J) working with Rabb, now the XO Captain of the USS Intrepid. According to TheWrap, Hetty (Linda Hunt) calls in a favor to her old friend, Lt. Col. Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie (Bell) with a request for helping the team gain access to an elusive Russian diplomat.

Bell and Elliott starred together on the U.S. inspired legal military series JAG for 10 years between 1995 and 2005, with the success of the show spinning off into the franchise NCIS in 2003, and led to NCIS: Los Angeles in 2009 and NCIS: New Orleans in 2014 with Scott Bakula.

No word yet if actor Patrick Labyorteaux, known for playing Ltjg. Bud Roberts, Jr. and rounding off the team trio will be joining the two in the season finale. However, Labyorteaux has starred in three episodes of NCIS between 2003 (“Hung out to Dry”) and 2018 (“Dark Secrets”) as his former JAG character.

Photo credit: CBS Archives