Mark Harmon Fighting to Save ‘NCIS,’ But There May Be No Hope Left as Audience Moves On

Onetime fan favorite show NCIS has plunged in the ratings and could be on the chopping block, so original star Mark Harmon is reportedly planning to return big-time to give it a boost — but why bother?

The detective drama about U.S. Navy investigators working military-related crimes has been running since its 2003 debut and now competes with a bunch of NCIS spinoffs without its beloved original stars — especially quirky Pauley Perrette, who quit in a tiff with Harmon, Michael Weatherly and Harmon as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Over the series’ first decade, viewers learned to love these stars and their characters, so it’s no wonder that with new actors in what is basically the same stale premise, the audience is getting fed up.

NCIS was the top-rated scripted show for five consecutive seasons — beginning in 2009-2010 and running through 2013-2014, including 2012-2013, when it was the most watched series on TV, beating out American Idol and even NBC Sunday Night Football.

But the show is not even in the top 10 anymore.

So producers have moved it from 9 p.m. Mondays to 8 p.m. Tuesdays in a desperate bid to stop the bleeding.

Of course, it’s hard for Mark to let go of the show that made his career. Before NCIS, former college jock Harmon had a mild movie career starring in rom-coms, where his good looks and rep as UCLA’s hunky star quarterback got him by.

His big break — costarring in the poorly reviewed 1988 crime flick The Presidio with Sean Connery and Meg Ryan — was his high point until NCIS made him a TV superstar.