{"id":3868,"date":"2025-11-19T20:21:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T20:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/?p=3868"},"modified":"2025-11-19T20:21:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T20:21:11","slug":"sean-murray-on-mcgees-evolution-the-joy-of-page-turner-and-ncis-season-23-feels-really-really-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/?p=3868","title":{"rendered":"Sean Murray on McGee\u2019s Evolution, the Joy of Page-Turner, and NCIS Season 23 Feels \u201cReally, Really Good\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Some interviews feel like interviews, and then there are those that feel like you\u2019ve accidentally wandered into someone\u2019s kitchen and started chatting over coffee.<\/p>\n

My conversation with Sean Murray fell firmly into the latter category \u2014 relaxed, warm, and surprisingly intimate for a ten-minute slot that did\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0feel like a ten-minute slot.<\/p>\n

It helps, of course, that NCIS Season 23 Episode 6, \u201cPage-Turner,\u201d is one of the most playful McGee-centric scripts in years. Murray lights up just talking about it.<\/p>\n

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(Robert Voets\/CBS)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe had so much fun doing this episode,\u201d he said immediately. \u201cIt was very, very different for us. You know, the show\u2019s been on for 23 years, and this was a very different kind of script.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGee\u2019s latest Deep Six novel becomes a lifeline during a kidnapping, and the episode lets him wander into conversations with the characters he\u2019s created \u2014 including Rick Soares, Agent Knightshade, and Professor Parkman.<\/p>\n

We even got a glimpse of my personal favorite, Pimmy Jalmer, whom Murray admitted he almost dressed as for Halloween.<\/p>\n

\u201cI almost did,\u201d he laughed. \u201cIt was a good idea, but I probably should have done it in retrospect.\u201d<\/p>\n

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(Bill Inoshita\/CBS)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The whole hour plays like a meta-mystery with a dash of Misery (Murray joked about the \u201cno hobbling\u201d relief), but the charm comes from the way McGee leans on his fictional world \u2014 something Murray has always loved exploring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been teasing for years that McGee bases his characters on the people around him,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was an idea that had been in the writers\u2019 heads for a while. It was just\u2026 fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

At one point, McGee reads a passage from his new book, which sparked an unexpectedly delightful tangent about audiobooks and whether McGee narrated his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just gave me a really good idea,\u201d Murrah said, surprised at what he was about to say. \u201cI think maybe we should do an audiobook. We talked about the audio version, and yeah, I think McGee is the narrator on his audiobooks. You know, I\u2019m not sure how good he is at it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

But McGee reading the passage at his book signing really worked, and it looked like a light turned on for Murray. And now I half-expect a Deep Six audio series to suddenly appear on Audible.<\/p>\n

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(Bill Inoshita\/CBS)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMcGee Has Changed More Than Any Other Character.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When I asked him about McGee\u2019s evolution over two decades, his whole posture shifted \u2014 not heavy, but thoughtful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea I\u2019d be here twenty-two years later,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd sometimes I\u2019ll see early clips and I\u2019m like,\u00a0wow.<\/em>\u00a0What a different deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

He told me that from the beginning, he and the producers pushed for real growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t want the baby Maggie Simpson thing,\u201d he explained. \u201cYou can\u2019t revert to the same character every week. McGee had to learn, had to get better. That\u2019s why I haven\u2019t gotten bored. It\u2019s not the same old thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s right \u2014 \u201cPage-Turner\u201d is the perfect example of that evolution. The timid rookie who once flinched when Gibbs snapped at him is now a seasoned agent who solves cases by trusting his imagination, his instincts, and yes, sometimes Rick Soares.<\/p>\n

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(Sonja Flemming\/CBS)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The NCIS Universe: Origins, Tony & Ziva, and \u201cDifferent Styles\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With\u00a0NCIS: Origins\u00a0and the\u00a0Tony & Ziva spinoff\u00a0adding fresh energy to the franchise, I asked him whether the expansion influenced the mothership\u2019s approach. Murray didn\u2019t see it as influence so much as permission.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese shows have different styles,\u201d he said. \u201cOrigins is darker, Tony and Ziva has that fun European spy vibe. And I like that. It\u2019s much better than having shows that try to be carbon copies.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called the original NCIS \u201cthe chicken soup,\u201d but emphasized that the franchise is thriving because each show brings its own flavor instead of mimicking the others.<\/p>\n

Of course, I\u2019ve been watching\u00a0NCIS Season 23\u00a0so far, and he\u2019s right \u2014 the playfulness has been noticeable. Even Murray feels it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just feels really good this year,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got more at stake, more personal stuff for the agents. We\u2019re really enjoying where things are going.\u201d<\/p>\n

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(Sonja Flemming\/CBS)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don\u2019t Get Too Comfy \u2014 Darker Episodes are Coming.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Of course, this is\u00a0NCIS, so the lighter episodes never last forever. With Parker\u2019s family arc moving to the forefront, I asked if things were about to get heavier.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s some heavy stuff coming up. We balance the light with the dark, and it works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he dropped two major teases \u2014 casually, like someone mentioning they picked up almond milk on the way home.<\/p>\n

NCIS fans, start theorizing.<\/p>\n

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(Bill Inoshita\/CBS)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is a McGee Spinoff on the Table?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I couldn\u2019t resist bringing up the Thom E. Gemcity of it all \u2014 McGee\u2019s writing career is practically begging for a Castle-esque procedural.<\/p>\n

He laughed, a little surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat could be fun,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, yeah, you get ideas like that. But honestly? I\u2019m having so much fun with what we\u2019re doing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Translation: he\u2019s too happy this season to daydream \u2014 but he\u2019s not ruling anything out.<\/p>\n

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(Sonja Flemming\/CBS)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As for what he still hopes to do with McGee before the end of the road?<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes Knight gets to go do the super SWAT stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019d like to see if McGee could handle that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A McGee-in-over-his-head action arc? Yes, please.<\/p>\n

Preferably with McGee narrating alongside his NCIS cohorts as their respective characters!<\/p>\n

Sean Murray was warm, relaxed, surprisingly funny, and nothing like the anxious edge we often associate with Tim McGee. If anything, he radiated the energy of someone who\u2019s genuinely enjoying the work \u2014 the scripts, the tone, the stories, the cast, all of it.<\/p>\n

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(CBS\/Screenshot)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And if the little hints he dropped are any indication, NCIS fans have\u00a0quite<\/em>\u00a0a ride ahead: returning faces, emotional family reveals, and the continued evolution of a character who has quietly become the heart of the show.<\/p>\n

Not bad for a ten-minute coffee chat that didn\u2019t feel like ten minutes at all.<\/p>\n

After 22 years, NCIS is still at the top of viewers\u2019 hearts, a testament to the cast and creators who give it their all year after year. Here\u2019s to even more storytelling that puts Sean Murray front and center.<\/p>\n

In case you missed it, be sure to read our\u00a0NCIS Season 23 Episode 6 review. We\u2019ve got a lot to talk about!<\/p>\n

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