‘NCIS’ Star Sean Murray Reflects on McGee’s Evolution After 500 Episodes [Exclusive]

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As NCIS triumphantly crossed the 500-episode milestone this week, the series has gone through many team iterations, no shortage of twisty plots and tones. Series star Sean Murray recently spoke with Maggie Lovitt for Collider Rewind to celebrate the momentous occasion.

Murray discussed the longevity of the long-running series, which began in 2003 as a spin-off to the military courtroom procedural JAG. NCIS follows the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, initially starring Mark Harmon, Sasha Alexander, Michael Weatherly, and more. The show has evolved over the years, with Murray joining as Special Agent Timothy McGee early on. Although the role was meant to be a one-off, Murray is now one of the longest-tenured members of the cast after the departure of Harmon just a few short years ago. Murray's McGee went from a nerdy, awkward"probie" to one of the strongest members of the Major Case Response Team. In talking with Lovitt, Murray discussed the fact that"one of the storylines that comes up quite a bit with fans is writing career." Within the NCIS universe, McGee has published under the name Thom E. Gemcity. The concept, Murray says, for"the Deep Six books, where he basically just rips off characters around him and barely renames them and publishes The Adventures of Rick Sorres and Co." That part of McGee was most recently revisited in the episode"Page Turner," where the character is kidnapped after a reading. Murray spoke fondly of revisiting Thom E. Gemcity, saying: "What was so much fun about that episode was we got to spend most of the episode with the characters in his head in his book, as played by our actors that the characters are based on. So, that was really fun. That was a really fun episode, and it was different, too, because we had characters appearing and not appearing. Sometimes we see them, sometimes we don't. We plan, and sometimes we don't. So that was kind of new for us, so that was cool. We did some fun, different things in that episode. I love the Thom E. Gemcity stuff." Sean Murray "Hasn't Gotten Bored" Playing Timothy McGee for Over 20 Years Playing a character for any extended period of time could become taxing, but that's not the case for Murray."It's pretty cool," he tells Collider."I haven't gotten bored for two decades playing this character, and part of the reason is the characters have always been changing and evolving." McGee went from the quirky comedic relief to a husband, father, and tenured NCIS agent, much like the person he once looked up to in Gibbs . For Murray, McGee's evolution on the show is"something we've always been conscious of doing from early on." He explains: "Something that I would say to some of our writers early was that I didn't want McGee to be like Baby Maggie Simpson and just revert to the same age every week. Him growing was going to be part of the fun of that character, this very schooled, informed character who was extremely socially awkward and didn't know how to handle a lot of things when it came to everything that comes with that job. The academic part of it, he had no problem, but everything else came over the years. Gibbs showed him how to run interrogations and things like that. He became a very good interrogator, McGee, and he just got better in the field and more confident." Murray and McGee alike have evolved with the show. Murray says,"As things went on, the different times when he finds himself in leadership roles, and different iterations of the team, I haven't gotten bored." Even though he's been around for the majority of the series' 500 episodes, Murray says,"I've never felt like I'm doing the same old thing, which is nice." He explains that's the mentality of the crew at large, saying,"I don't think any of us do. I don't think any of us feel like we're just hitting the light switch and then going, “Okay, here we are. I'm going to be Torres, and I'll be McGee.” We're always pushing for something to try and make it better." Subscribe to our newsletter for NCIS insights and context Crave extra NCIS perspective? Subscribing to our newsletter unlocks expanded coverage: deeper dives into character arcs, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, cast conversations, and episode analysis that illuminate the show's evolution and storytelling. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. NCIS is available to stream on Paramount+. Stay with Collider for the latest updates and check out our expansive NCIS coverage for Collider Rewind. NCIS Like Follow Followed TV-14 Crime Drama Action Release Date September 23, 2003 Network CBS Showrunner Donald P. Bellisario Directors Dennis Smith, Terrence O'Hara, Tony Wharmby, James Whitmore Jr., Thomas J. Wright, Michael Zinberg, Arvin Brown, Rocky Carroll, Diana Valentine, Leslie Libman, Tawnia McKiernan, Colin Bucksey, William Webb, Bethany Rooney, Alrick Riley, Jeff Woolnough, Alan J. Levi, Lionel Coleman, Martha Mitchell, Peter Ellis, Michael Weatherly, Edward Ornelas, Stephen Cragg, Tom Wright Writers George Schenck, Frank Cardea, Jesse Stern, John C. Kelley, Jennifer Corbett, Christopher Silber, Reed Steiner, Nicole Mirante-Matthews, Jack Bernstein, Scott J. Jarrett, Matthew R. Jarrett, Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Don McGill, Gil Grant, Frank Military, Nell Scovell, Steven Kriozere, Brian Dietzen, Kate Torgovnick May, Jeff Vlaming, Sydney Mitchel, Katie White, Richard C. Arthur, Laurence Walsh 9 Images Close Cast See All

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