Should NCIS season 15 introduce new character after Jennifer Esposito’s exit?

At this point, many people out there may have heard the news that Jennifer Esposito is going from NCIS after just one season. It came as a surprise when it was first announced, mostly because there had been no hints that anyone was going to leave between seasons and the move appears to be more creatively-based than something determined by a contract.

Now that this news is official, the question evolves into something else entirely: Are we poised to meet another new character on the show for season 15? There are effectively two different ways to look at it:

1. More is more! – If you bring in a new character (preferably a woman), there is a chance that you cast her well and come up with a unique angle. As a result of that, maybe you’re able to extend the life of the show a little bit more than you would otherwise. Given that there are many people out there who absolutely would love to see more NCIS, it’s difficult to see them upset about a new great character. (The risk there is that there is no guarantee the character is great, and they could end up being rather unpopular and polarizing to much of the base.)

2. Less is more – This is another argument to be made that there are already too many cast members, given that the show effectively replaced Michael Weatherly with several other people at the same time. Scaling things back would mean more time for characters like Clayton Reeves and Jimmy Palmer, though there may be two issues with this. For one, it would tilt the balance of the show heavily to the men, and it’s also possible that so many longtime cast members may want to have a lighter workload right now rather than continuing to push themselves too hard.

While we’re not sure that NCIS will try to introduce a new character before the start of season 15, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see it happen within the first of the season. We also wouldn’t object to signing on a familiar face for a certain number of episodes; we’ve always been a proponent of more Abigail Borin.

What do you want to see on NCIS season 15 in terms of new characters? Vote in the attached poll!

Meanwhile, if you missed the initial news on Esposito’s exit, you can read a little bit more about it just by heading over to the link here right now. (Photo: CBS.)