NCIS season 15: Pauley Perrette leaving as Abby
In a new post on Twitter, Perrette confirmed that she is leaving the show at the end of the season, while also making it clear that this was a decision made a long time ago (think last year) and she’s not departing to do a skin-care line. Meanwhile, CBS and NCIS itself are not angry at her for what seems to be her decision to depart.
Ultimately, it’s not hard to figure why Perrette would want to depart the show at this point, given that she’s been a part of the series from the very beginning and is one of the few original series regulars still with the show alongside Mark Harmon and David McCallum. Fifteen seasons is a very long time for any show to be on the air, and eventually actors are going to want to move on and do other things.
It’s still an enormous blow to NCIS to lose Pauley at this time given that Abby is easily one of the show’s most recognizable characters all over the world. You can put the character on posters and people will notice her almost immediately, and she has an enormous amount of diehard fans out there as a result of her work here. NCIS has withstood departures of other cast members before, though, so they should be able to handle this. In theory we’re actually getting much more of a warning here than with Michael Weatherly or Cote de Pablo (we didn’t get much of a warning at all with the latter), so there should be time for the writers to come up with a suitable way to send her off.
We do think that NCIS will continue to press onward, but the show is hardly going to be the same. You still have Harmon and McCallum, but those two guys plus Sean Murray are really the only people left from the original era. You had Emily Wickersham’s Bishop temporarily leading the team on the first two episodes of the season just because she was the longest-tenured agent, even though she’s only been there for a handful of seasons at this point. (Rocky Carroll has a longer tenure than Wickersham, but he is not there to be an agent.)
For the time being NCIS will continue airing new episodes on Tuesday nights, and time will tell as to how the CBS show is going to replace Perrette. We at CarterMatt don’t get the sense that this will be the final season of the show, so we figure that somehow the network will find a way to make this work.
What is your reaction to Pauley Perrette leaving NCIS at the end of the season?
Sound off with some of your thoughts in the comments! Also, click here to read our most-recent NCIS episode review or like us on Facebook to receive more insight on this and some of the other shows we cover at the site. (Photo: CBS.)
ceelee
October 11, 2017 @ 3:42 am
I’ll miss Abby, and Ducky if he leaves as well. But, NCIS is the show it is because of the leadership, and because of incredible writers. We’ve “survived” losing Kate, Jenny, Ziva, and Tony, as well as many other less major characters. I’ll remain a diehard fan for as long as the show continues.
Eric H
October 4, 2017 @ 5:52 pm
I think the show is going to really change with her moving on as you don’t easily replace someone with that much character and history. They can’t just get another quirky person since then it’d look like a cheap imitation. I believe we may see them move away from focusing on the forensics side of things and focus on other aspects of the crime-solving process.
Monique75
October 4, 2017 @ 4:04 pm
I wish Pauley all the best. While Abby will always be loved, the character really hasn’t changed much in 15 seasons, so maybe it is a time for a change. The show goes for as long as Mark Harmon wants it, and I hope that Sean Murray sticks around, because we are finally getting to see more of McGee front and center, so that suits me.
luvmymusik
October 4, 2017 @ 3:41 pm
Oh wow. I can’t imagine NCIS without Abby. She is such a big part of the show. It has had a great run for 15 years so maybe it is time for it to end while still on top rather then bring in a replacement that might not work.