Tim McGee, portrayed by Sean Murray, has always had a dual career, balancing his duties at NCIS with his passion for writing the “Deep Six” novels under the pseudonym Thom E. Gemcity. However, Sean Murray believes that McGee shouldn’t consider writing as a full-time career. “McGee was quite successful in the early days of his Thom E. Gemcity ventures, but perhaps he’s not at the peak of his success anymore,” Murray explained in an interview with TV Line.

While his writing has always been secondary to his main profession, McGee’s dual life once led to a near-catastrophic mistake, almost costing his colleagues their lives. The initial excitement surrounding the “Deep Six” series appears to be fading, and with dwindling interest and critical disapproval of his latest book, McGee finds himself at a crossroads. It takes a harrowing hostage situation for him to realize his writing’s impact, reigniting his satisfaction with his life’s direction. Although McGee might not reach the heights of a James Patterson, Murray appreciates one aspect of his character’s writing career.

Sean Murray doesn’t believe McGee should abandon his role in intelligence for a full-time writing career, but he acknowledges one benefit of McGee’s literary endeavors. “Federal agent salaries aren’t exactly lucrative, so that extra income from writing can definitely help, especially as the kids grow older,” Murray stated to TV Insider. With a successful run on “NCIS” for 23 seasons, Murray’s own wealth has significantly increased, giving him insight into the financial advantages of McGee’s side gig.

While Sean Murray doesn’t think Tim should quit the intelligence world to become an author full-time, there’s one aspect of Tim’s writing career he agrees with. “You’re dealing with a federal agent salary, [which is] probably not so great [..] that extra shoe money from the writing, I think that can help at this point. The kids are getting older. I think that money can help,” Murray said to TV Insider. Since Murray’s own net worth after appearing on “NCIS” for 23 seasons has skyrocketed into the millions, he knows what he’s talking about.

Indeed, Tim and his wife, Delilah Fielding (Margo Harshman) welcomed twins Johnny and Morgan all the way back in Season 15, meaning they’d be about eight or nine years old by now. Someone’s going to need to keep them fed, and whatever Tim makes as a writer will definitely help out around the house. As of now, even though the cultural zeitgeist seems to be passing Tim by, when it comes to his work as Thom he’s exactly where he needs to be.