‘NCIS’: Mark Harmon’s Wife Pam Dawber Debuts Tonight

NCIS previously revealed that series star Mark Harmon‘s wife Pam Dawber would be joining the show in a brief recurring role for Season 18, and tonight is the big night that Dawber makes her grand debut. According to Entertainment Weekly, Dawber is playing a character named Marcie Warren, “a seasoned investigative journalist who uses her savvy wit and down-to-earth people skills to aid in her tireless pursuit of truth.” After Dawber’s debut in Thursday night’s episode, she is scheduled to appear in three more episodes.

Dawber is Harmon’s real-life spouse of over 30 years and is most recognizable for starring in the beloved sitcom Mork & Mindy, opposite Robin Williams. In addition to her TV work, Dawber also appeared in a number of movies, including Stay Tuned, the cult classic sci-fi flick, which also starred the late John Ritter. Notably, this is the first in the nearly two decades of NCIS being on the air that Dawber has appeared in the show. Dawber has mostly stepped away from being out in front of the camera over the years, with her most recent acting credit being an episode of the 2016 TV remake of The Odd Couple.

When last saw Harmon’s character, Special Agent Gibbs, he’d been placed on an indefinite suspension for nearly beating a man to death. Gibbs’ ire was invoked after he discovered that the man ran a dogfighting ring and killed the losing dogs. According to a description of the new episode from CBS, in the wake of Gibbs’ suspension, “Vance assigns McGee, Torres and Bishop to COVID compliance duty at a foreign affairs summit, where they discover a link to another NCIS team’s murder case.”

With not many episodes left for Season 18, there still has been no update regarding if the show is being renewed for Season 19. It’s been speculated that this may be due to Harmon wanting to exit and CBS not being sure if the show should go on if he does choose to leave. Back in February, Hollywood Reporter editor Lesley Goldberg stated that Harmon “is rumored to be ready to leave, but would be willing to return for a handful of episodes if CBS renews it for a 19th season.” NCIS returns at 8 p.m. ET, only on CBS.