Mark Harmon dishes on the next spinoff: 'NCIS: New Orleans'

Goodbye, Ziva. Hello, NOLA! This spring, watch for a two-part sweeps episode of "NCIS" that will also function as a pilot for "NCIS: New Orleans." If the CBS drama is given the go-ahead, it could be on the air as soon as next fall. Mark Harmon is set to be one of the new show's executive producers, which may surprise anyone who remembers that he wasn't crazy about the idea of "NCIS: Los Angeles" four years ago. What convinced him that a spinoff wouldn't dilute the mother show?

"Gary Glasberg. That's my answer!" Harmon says of "NCIS's" showrunner since 2011, who will carry out executive producer duties on the new installment. "The target is two terrific episodes of this series, which we were going to do anyway. But now we get a chance to really do it."

Glasberg presented the star with what was supposed to be just an idea for an episode. "And to Mr. Harmon's credit, he looked at me and said, 'That's more than a sweeps episode.' I realized he might be right," Glasberg says. "We'll do our best to cast and write it well and create something fun and different."

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