‘NCIS’ season 11 spoilers: Cote de Pablo offers heartfelt thanks in discussing exit

While we have heard from many other actors in the “NCIS” universe following the sad and sudden announcement that Cote de Pablo was leaving the CBS mega-hit after season 11, there was still one other person that a good many people out there were waiting to hear from: Cote herself.

Luckily, that situation has now been remedied, although Cote does not exactly go into much detail about why she chose to bid farewell to a place that has been a home to her over the past eight years. Speaking to Latina Magazine (of which she is the cover girl for the September issue), her comments come more as a thank-you to fans rather than an explanation, though she does admit that her decision to walk away and try to pursue something different with her career was not made without a great deal of thought:

“It was not an easy decision, not one taken lightly. I feel like I am leaving my family. What I want to say most of all is thank you to the fans and to the people who have been so supportive of me and of the show, who have made the show the great success that it is.”

Sadly, all Latina has released is that short tease. It’s unclear if she is willing to appear on the show in the future, but we would be surprised if producers did not push for her to come back for another episode near the end of the show’s run, whenever that may be.

Until that time, “NCIS” is already planning to do as many creatives things as possible to keep longtime fans entertained. Michael Weatherly has been hyping up the final episodes with Cote’s Ziva on board, while producers are casting some other actors to test out in what could be an experimentation period before deciding on someone to fill the void left by her more permanently.

The new season of “NCIS” will officially begin on CBS come Tuesday, September 24 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Photo: CBS