Will Mark Harmon Return for the 'NCIS' 450th Episode?

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The 'Usual Suspects' 450th episode of 'NCIS' will focus on family, including the return of Alden Parker's father.

Monday night’s episode of NCIS marks a milestone. It’s the 450th episode, but it’s business as usual, not a retrospective in any way, so fans who were hoping for a possible return of Special Agent Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon) are going to have wait a while longer for him to make his return.

“I don’t see how we don’t see him one more time at one point,” showrunner Steven D. Binder told TV Guide. Gibbs has, in my mind, advanced to a higher plane of existence for now—I don’t want to place him in an apartment in Anchorage or anywhere. We left him smiling on a river happy, and that’s the image I want people to have until we’re really ready to blow that out of the water or truly embrace it in some way.”

<p>Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2023</p>

Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2023

Related: NCIS Gets Season 21 Renewal! CBS Announces Twice the NCIS for the Fall!

So, what will happen during the “Unusual Suspects” episode?

NCIS will investigate the death of a ride-share driver who was found after a car accident. And we will see the return of Alden Parker’s (Gary Cole) retired Navy dad Roman (Francis Xavier McCarthy)—who we met briefly in the Season 19 finale—who has to temporarily move in with his son when he gets kicked out of his retirement home for bad behavior.

In the exclusive clip above, Parker gets a 9-1-1 call from his dad while he’s in the middle of a case and has to rush home to find out what the crisis is because his dad isn’t answering the phone.

Related: Brian Dietzen on Co-Writing an Episode of NCIS in Which the Very Cool Alden Parker Gets Hot!

Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) and Knight (Katrina Law) cover for Parker while he races home—almost getting a speeding ticket, which doesn’t help his mood when he discovers why his dad actually texted.

But then, when NCIS needs to investigate a shady nursing home, Roman is just the man for the job, and he helps the team solve their case.

NCIS airs Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

Next, Find Out the Secret Past Gary Cole's NCIS Character Alden Parker Has Been Hiding