NCIS fans are in for some major surprises this fall when the hit procedural returns for a twenty-third run. Last we heard, the new season went into production last month and won’t premiere until this October, so there’s still some time to catch up on the epic Season 22, whose finale aired on May 5, 2025, as well as what’s ahead for fan-favorites. Speaking of which, several additions have been made ahead of the show’s return, the most recent of which is Nancy Travis in a guest-starring role that directly connects to Gary Cole’s Special Agent Alden Parker.
News just broke that Travis has been cast as Navy Vice Admiral Harriet Parker, the sister of Gary Cole’s character, and who will be introduced in the two-part NCIS Season 23 premiere, beginning Tuesday, October 14. The TV star is well-known for her stint on the ABC/Fox sitcom Last Man Standing, where she portrayed Vanessa Baxter from 2011 to 2021. Her other TV credits include The Kominsky Method, Almost Perfect, Rose Red, and Becker.
As for her upcoming NCIS role, Harriet will be reunited with her brother, with whom she’ll also be grieving after that shocking death in the NCIS Season 22 finale. You may recall that the episode saw Parker come face-to-face with his longtime nemesis, Carla (Rebecca De Mornay), who did not kill him when she could, surprising viewers. Instead, the NCIS Agent arrived home at the end of the finale to find his father (Francis X. McCarthy) dead, which, of course, will throw him off balance as the action series progresses.
Who Does Nancy Travis Portray in ‘NCIS’ Season 23?
Furthermore, in NCIS Season 23, Travis will offer a glimpse into how Parker became the man he is today, as showrunner Steven D. Binder teased as much recently. “The Alden Parker that we know and see now is not what Alden Parker was as a child,” Binder shared. “We’ve gotten into his history a bit — he was a troubled kid, he was in a juvie home, he stole things — and that’s the dynamic that his sister grew up with. He was the bad kid, and she was the good kid.”
The NCIS EP also dropped more plot details, hinting at some sibling rivalry ahead, considering how different Harriet is from her brother. “She’s this super squared-away Navy admiral, and then you’ve got Alden Parker, who’s got this bad kid seed,” Binder said. “Those two are going to come to a head, and what’s funny about that is, it’s one thing to have it happen over Thanksgiving dinner, it’s a whole other thing to happen in the middle of a global crisis! The bickering is, I might say, very NCIS.”
