‘NCIS’: Why Season 20 May Change Everything for Jimmy Palmer

NCIS only just recently wrapped up its 19th season at CBS, but fans are already looking ahead to what’s next for the series. The shocking cliffhanger has fans waiting eagerly for what’s to come. But one thing that seems clear to them is that Jimmy Palmer is set for some major changes.

Jimmy’s relationship with Jessica Knight looks to be a major storyline going forward. It may not evolve into the central plot of the next season. However, there’s little doubt we’ll see a lot of screen time devoted to this new relationship. There’s also the small matter of the exit of Mark Harmon as Gibbs.

Jimmy remains as one of the few long-term characters on NCIS that has been around since the first season. Ducky now appears sporadically, and Gibbs departed after nearly 20 years of leading the classic TV series. But Jimmy still stands to carry the torch of NCIS going forward. He along with McGee should start seeing a lot more screen time in season 20.

The biggest sign of change coming to NCIS must be the departure of Mark Harmon as Jethro Gibbs. This leaves a major gap in the story that Jimmy will sure be utilized to fill. Jimmy Palmer actor, Brian Dietzen, recently spoke to Express to give his view of Gibb’s departure.

“For so long, one of the strengths of the show was that it was centered around the Gibbs character, which works,” Dietzen said. “It’s been tried and true, and it worked for so long. But in the absence of that character, there’s a vacuum that’s left because that character’s no longer at the center of the room.”

The Jimmy Palmer Episode Still Fondly Remembered

Jimmy remains one of the most popular characters in the NCIS roster, but his character had humble beginnings before he developed into the major player he is today. A Jimmy-centric episode from season 14 was a turning point for the character and remains one of the most beloved episodes of the entire series.

The episode “Keep Going” was one of the first to focus on Dr. Jimmy Palmer. During a hit-and-run investigation, Palmer finds himself joining a stranger standing on a ledge about to jump. However, the good doctor does his best to talk him out of it to save his life.

“This is heartfelt. It authentically opened my emotions up, and by the end I was in tears,” one reviewer noted in an IMDB review of the episode. “Not tears of sentiment, but of true and honest emotion. Jimmy Palmer (the character) was amazing, as was Gibbs, Bishop, and Ducky (everybody, actually). I LOVE this episode! I wish more of them were of this stellar quality – but with hundreds and hundreds of NCIS episodes that would be asking for the super human.”