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WhileNCIShas seen a lot of fabulous talent debuting in the series ever since it began its run back in 2003, it has also seen a lot of departures throughout its 476 episodes spread over 22 seasons long run, as of this writing. This included Mark Harmon, who played the naval drama’s lead for almost two decades.
But while Harmon’s exit from the show was more or less satisfying and was for a reason all too understandable as it was devastating, he wasn’t the only fan-favorite to quit the show. Just like him, actress Cote De Pablo, who played the fan-beloved Agent Ziva David in the series, left the series as well, though her reason for doing so was the “scripts not being good enough.“
Cote De Pablo leftNCISwhen the scripts failed to match her standards
For one who joined the saga in season 3, Cote De Pablo stayed for a considerable period before deciding her investment in the show had to come to an end. For more than eight stunning years, she perfectly contributed to the crime police-procedural drama by immaculately embodying and bringing the fan-favorite Special Agent Ziva David to life.
However, in 2013, she decided that she no longer wanted to stay. While she didn’t immediately confess why she decided to leave the show, De Pablo did reveal a few years later, in 2016, that the real reason backing up her decision to leave was her disapproval of the plans that the higher-ups and masterminds behind the series had for her character.
In a Q&A interview released onYouTube, the actress explained the same, saying, “Unfortunately because of political things and scripts not being good enough, I chose not to [return to NCIS].” At the same time, she also made it clear that she loved the character and only decided to leave when she felt the future planned for Ziva didn’t really honor her character arc.
Sharing the same while explaining what they had planned for her character, she said,
Look, I love this character! I worked for eight years crafting Ziva and when I felt like the character wasn’t being treated with the respect she deserved. They were going to send her back to Israel and make her an unfortunate, miserable woman. I didn’t think it was fair.
That being said, since she didn’t find initial plans for her character fair, De Pablo didn’t hesitate to emphasize back then that unless something better was penned down for her fan-favorite character, they might as well not expect her to return. She candidly said in the interview, “I told them until someone can write something really fantastic for Ziva I won’t come back.”
Due to this, even the CBS executives pressed that they didn’t want to see her go, all the while adding that it was basically “her decision” to end her character’s run onNCIS. But even after leaving, De Pablo hadn’t entirely closed the window on her return, for she did return to the show in seasons 16 and 17 before clarifying her initial statements weren’t exactly correct.
In an interview withUSA Todayin 2019, years after her initial exit, Cote De Pablo shed light on the same while correcting her original statements, saying, “I think that was taken out of context at a certain point… But I didn’t leave because I wanted to go, or because I was ready, or because I was tired. I didn’t really have an option.“
Conflicting, yes, but better scriptsdidbring her back during later seasons, so that’s that as well.
Mark Harmon’s exit, meanwhile, was reportedly fueled by the lack of “challenging” material
On the one hand, while Cote De Pablo reportedly leftNCISwhen the scripts failed to appease her anymore,Mark Harmon, on the other hand, chose to depart from the saga – only to never return – when he realized he was no long being given “fresh” and “challenging” material to tackle. That said, he played Leroy Jethro Gibbs for almost two decades till 2021 before bowing out.
Of course, the news of his exit came as a devastating surprise to fans, which was further fueled when Harmon chose not to address the reasons for his exit publically; neither through a statement nor through interviews. But the truth finally came out in a special featurette on the show’s season 19 DVD release, when he revealed what had him returning to the show every season.
“If you don’t, we’re not doing the show”: Real Reason Donald Bellisario Threatened to Cancel NCIS Over David McCallum’s Ducky
PerHello! Magazine, the actor admitted that the opportunity to tackle “fresh” and “challenging” material was what ensured his return to the series for every new season, alluding to the possibility that he ostensibly felt this was no longer the case when he decided to exit from the show. Then there’s what he shared onThe Kelly Clarkson Showabout it all, where he said:
I think for the longest time, I was just tired. Part of taking the job [involved] being home, with a young family, not traveling so much doing movies. The first day, we worked 22 hours. So I thought, ‘That’s not exactly what I thought this was going to be.’ But we had a lot of days like that in the first four years.
Harmon’s character Gibbs’ storyline, in the meanwhile, eventually perfectly played out as well. After solving his last case which involved him ditching the FBI and helping the hitman get to where he wanted to die, Gibbs had, actually, broken the law, and he was willing to serve time for it.
But there was good in what Gibbs had done, and FBI Agent Alden Parker saw it as well, so he decided to disobey the orders to arrest him, costing himself his job. Because of this, Gibbs decided to remain where he was as he finally found peace for the first time since the deaths of his wife and daughter. This resulted in a satisfying concluding arc for him that cemented his legacy – and was one that didn’t even need him to return – so that was that as well.
NCIS can currently be streamed on Netflix.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
