Mark Harmon’s Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs will appear less in NCIS season 19. This report has been confirmed, though it remains unclear why the actor won’t have more appearances in the CBS series given that his character is a major player in the police procedural.

According to a recent report via TVLine, Harmon is set to appear “in a relatively small number of episodes” in NCIS season 19. One insider said the actor’s episode will be in “low single digits,” while another insider claimed he’s going to have a few appearances throughout the next chapter.

Details about Harmon’s limited presence remain uncertain right now. It is unlikely that it is tied to the ratings, as the police procedural reported has an average of 9.5 million live viewers every week. The series is considered one of the most-watched television shows around the world.

“We take it year by year with Mark,” CBS entertainment chief Kelly Kahl said in a previous interview with Deadline. “We’d love to have him as long as he’d like to be here…. [W]e’re happy to work around his schedule.”

Harmon’s few appearances in NCIS season 19 will be filled in by a new character coming on board. Gary Cole is slated to join the next installment and will have a major role in the next chapter. There were also speculations that he’s going to be Gibbs’ replacement over time.

Also, new cast members might be added to the story following the big departures in season 18. Both Maria Bello and Emily Wickersham departed from their roles as Jack Sloan and Ellie Bishop, respectively. The series may bring new faces, if not replacement.

WARNING! This article contains spoilers for the NCIS season 18 finale. Read at your own risk.

Although the Special Agent won’t be seen often than before, the series still needs to address what happened to him in the season 18 finale. Gibbs seemingly died in the final moments of the episode after his lifeless body swimming away from the lake.

Considering Harmon’s return, he possibly survived what happened to him. Prior to this incident, Gibbs was suspended from his post after assaulting a dog abuser. During his suspension, he worked with investigative reporter Marcie Warren (Harmon’s real-life wife Pam Dawber) to track down a serial killer.

Meanwhile, NCIS season 19 will have a different timeslot once it arrives on CBS. Instead of the Tuesday 8 PM schedule, the police procedural was moved to Monday 9 PM schedule this fall.