NCIS Creators Thought That After Michael Weatherly’s Departure, The Show Was ‘Done’

An ‘NCIS’ executive producer believed Michael Weatherly’s departure after 13 seasons would spell the end of the long-running CBS procedural.

NCIS has been running for over two decades. However, there have been a few instances when it appeared like the show may not be able to continue, particularly when fan favorites such as Abby Sciuto and Leroy Jethro Gibbs left the show. An NCIS insider recently said that the loss of another prominent actor felt like a d3ath knell for the long-running series.

Michael Weatherly left the cast of ‘NCIS’ in 2016.

On NCIS, Michael Weatherly portrayed Tony DiNozzo. DiNozzo worked as a senior NCIS agent on the squad commanded by Gibbs (Mark Harmon).

The character debuted in a JAG episode that functioned as a backdoor pilot for NCIS and remained on the show through season 13. DiNozzo eventually quit the squad to care for his daughter with coworker Ziva David (Cote de Pablo).

Weatherly, in actuality, had determined it was time to leave the CBS show. He also wanted to spend more time with his family, which included his wife Bojana Jankovic’s several small children.

He told People at the time, “The kids are very excited to have me around, mostly because I’m wrapped around their little fingers.” I’m just a sucker who is attempting to be an authority figure.

As many working parents are aware, “it’s very difficult to just come in and be the strict one because then you’re just a *sshole,” he noted. “However, you don’t want to be too soft.”

The executive producer of ‘NCIS’ did not believe the show could continue without DiNozzo.

Weatherly has valid reasons for wanting to leave NCIS. However, people in charge of the show were concerned about what his departure might imply for the series.

“When Michael Weatherly walked out the door, I thought, ‘We’re done.’” ‘How could we continue?’” Mark Horowitz, JAG director and NCIS executive producer, told The Hollywood Reporter for the magazine’s NCIS oral history.

Horowitz, however, did not need to be concerned. Wilmer Valderrama from That ’70s Show joined the cast as a new character named Nick Torres. He was right at home.

“Yet Wilmer Valderrama comes in and creates his own identity, and he has his own thing”, according to Horowitz.

I knew DiNozzo was popular in America… When a show loses a key character like that, there is always a void, according to former CBS president Glenn Geller. But the authors always found a way to not just fill the void, but to massage the characters and relationships so that you were introduced to new ones while still getting to adore the ones you already knew.

‘NCIS’ star Michael Weatherly hinted a return.

Weatherly has been gone from NCIS for seven years. He later appeared in CBS’s Bull, however the show terminated in 2022. But is the actor thinking about resuming his role as DiNozzo? NCIS fans are hoping after a recent social media update.

“I have the impression that things are starting to happen. Things that are going to be incredibly exciting. “Stay tuned,” the actor tweeted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, in July 2023.

Some speculated that Weatherly was prepared to confirm his return to NCIS, which is entering its 21st season. He also hinted at a probable return in a January 2023 post on X, according to TV Insider. However, there has been no formal confirmation that Weatherly will return to the show.