NCIS season 15 spoilers: Jennifer Esposito leaving as Alex Quinn
This news was first reported by Deadline, with the move apparently being a creative decision. Quinn was a character first created by the late Gary Glasberg prior to his death in December; now, the show is going in a new direction.
In a statement, Esposito was thankful for her one season on the show:
“It was a great experience … I could not have asked for a better opportunity than to work with the NCIS cast and producers.”
This news is shocking to us given that Quinn was probably one of the stronger of the new characters introduced on the show. She had an established history with Gibbs, and was one of the few people who could really challenge him without feeling the need to apologize after the fact. She also had an interesting and emotional history.
Whether or not Esposito is the only departure before season 15 remains to be seen, as both Wilmer Valderrama and Duane Henry both joined the show last year in permanent capacity. (Henry guest-starred in season 13 before being promoted to a regular.) Hopefully, the two actors will stay put, since this is a show that needs some stability after losing Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly over the past several years. In general, keeping consistent female cast members of this show has proven tough beyond Pauley Perrette and currently Emily Wickersham; look at Lauren Holly, Sasha Alexander, Cote, and now Esposito. (Before Jennifer joined, Sarah Clarke was set to be a series regular before the show went in a different direction there.)
There is no word just yet on if there will be a new regular hired to the cast replacing Esposito; the one thing that we can say is that she will continue to recur on Showtime’s The Affair, so she still has a place within the greater CBS family. (She was previously a part of another network show in Blue Bloods earlier on in her run there.)
What do you think about Jennifer’s exit from NCIS, and where do you want to see the show go from there? Share in the comments below! (Photo: CBS)
Ted Wolkerstorfer
June 12, 2017 @ 8:32 pm
It’s too bad she was a female Tony, the woman they need to get rid of is the chick in the wheelchair–no need for her (I’m writing this from a wheelchair). Also the MI-6 guy, out, but Gibbs needs a love interest and the one that will work is Diane Neal, she does the same as him but with the Coast Guard..
David Kemp
June 13, 2017 @ 2:54 pm
Totally agree. Chop Duane Henry {the MI 6 guy) and bring in Diane Neal. She’s great.
Harriet Sharon
June 25, 2017 @ 5:27 am
thanks! i’d forgotten her name. agree wholeheartedly that they should’ve made her part of the show
David Kemp
June 11, 2017 @ 10:09 pm
Why do these shows find it so hard to keep their female stars? Esposito follows Sasha Alexander and Cote de Pablo in leaving NCIS. Sophia Bush, the biggest star on Chicago PD, has just quit, and Castle fell apart when Stana Katic left. Zoe McLellan was a big loss to NCIS New Orleans. The list is almost endless, and we seldom hear the real reasons. Bush hinted at bullying and sexual harassment in a testosterone-fuelled production environment, and there were rumours that Cote de Pablo discovered that she was paid less than some other leading characters. Katic was certainly bullied by her co-star. We need some investigative journalism here.
Bunster
June 11, 2017 @ 7:12 pm
Its like rats leaving a sinking ship.
Suzanne Antippas
June 11, 2017 @ 3:27 pm
They got rid of the wrong female character, while Jennifer Esposito’s character was likeable, capable of displaying a range of emotion and interesting. The character of Ellie as portrayed by one-note only Emily Wickersham has destroyed the show. Not only is she virtuallly unwatchable, she has damaged the Gibbs character, causing Gibbs to be seen irrationally supporting an incompetent and rogue agent, who on her own but while wearing the NCIS badge last season murdered a valuable CIA informant for personal revenge — with no consequences whatsoever. When this show is finished (2017-2018 is the end?) a book can be written on the idiocy of the show and network in not listeneing to but defying the viewer protests about this character.
David Kemp
June 11, 2017 @ 10:31 pm
You’re being unfair here. Gibbs himself went rogue and killed the cartel hitman who murdered his wife and daughter. Not only were there no consequences for him either, but his team helped to bury the case.
Harriet Sharon
June 25, 2017 @ 5:26 am
it’s not that she went rogue, it’s that she’s a boring character! she was originally an analyst and doesn’t even do that anymore. no character development and no spark. a very poor replacement for Ziva. i wish they’d had the coast guard CIS actress become a part of the show, and it was also stupid to have killed off Diane, Gibbs and actor Joe Spano’s wife , b/c she was riotously funny
Linda Z
June 12, 2017 @ 6:37 am
I’m with you. I was hoping that was the end of the Ellie character when she went rogue.
Linda Colosimo
June 11, 2017 @ 2:36 pm
I never cared for her character. She seems too old to still be an agent…she should have been higher ranking. And no, I’m not younger, 62 in fact. Jimmy gets on my last nerve with his silliness.
Glonget
June 10, 2017 @ 11:35 am
That is just a bad idea, disappointed in Schenck and Cardea ?!