Why Emily Wickersham’s Ellie Bishop Left NCIS

As a core cast member, many have wondered why Emily Wickersham’s Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop left NCIS. The character was on the massive police procedural series for eight seasons, joining the cast of NCIS in season 11 and leaving an indelible impression on the Major Case Response Team and its dedicated TV following. Ellie Bishop played a significant role in the series as one of the handful of NCIS special agents who comprised Gibbs’ team. While Katrina Law’s Jessica Knight character is an excellent replacement, Emily Wickersham’s Eleanor Bishop left a hole in the shared NCIS universe when she left.

Many original NCIS Major Case Response Team members have parted ways with the series, which is how Emily Wickersham landed a spot on the NCIS cast. Wickersham’s Ellie Bishop joined the series after Ziva David parted ways with the team, filling her position. Ziva was initially a replacement, too, joining the team as their Mossad liaison agent after Caitlin Todd’s shocking NCIS death. As such, Wickersham’s NCIS exit was nothing new, but the actor never gave a specific reason for leaving, as did her predecessors. However, the actor finally confirmed her reason for leaving NCIS three years later.