The day, which started great for NCIS, just got even better. Hours after the veteran CBS drama set a new series record in total viewers, 22.3 million, its star Mark Harmon signed a new two-year deal to continue on the show. And with him on board, NCIS is being renewed for a ninth season, the first CBS drama to get a pickup for next fall. "It’s simply amazing that a show in its eighth season continues to perform at such an elite level," CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler said.

I hear Harmon's new deal with NCIS producer CBS TV Studios will pay the star more than $500,000 an episode, which is in the range former CSI star William Petersen was at the same point of the veteran forensic drama. And just like Petersen on CSI, Harmon is being upped from producer to an executive producer on NCIS next season. Additionally, he has signed a production deal with CBS TV Studios for his company Wings Prods. which will be housed on the CBS lot. The setup is similar to the deal CSI's new star Laurence Fishburne inked last spring.

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