‘NCIS’ Cast Reacts to Emily Wickersham’s Exit After Finale

The NCIS family is bidding farewell to Emily Wickersham and her character Ellie Bishop after Tuesday’s Season 18 finale. The special agent exited the NCIS team after admitting to leaking NSA documents, but in the last moments she appeared on screen was revealed to be heading deep undercover, which required her to have the back story of a disgraced agent.

After Wickersham confirmed on Instagram that she was leaving NCIS, her co-stars, Brian Dietzen, Katrina Law, Diona Reasonover, Maria Bello and Duane Henry were quick to wish her well on her next adventure. Dietzen, who plays Jimmy Palmer, wrote in the comments of her post, “So damn proud of you my friend. Also, I’m gonna miss the hell outta you on set. I can’t wait to see what you do next. Whatever it is, I’ll be there in the front row. Thank you.”

Law, who portrayed Jessica Knight, added heart emojis, while Reasonover, who plays Kasie Hines, commented, “Thank you for everything, friend.” Bello, who played Jack Sloane, added heart and kissy emojis to her comment, simply writing, “Love You Em!” Henry shared a photo of the two on set to his own Instagram Story, writing, “Well Done [Emily Wickersham].”

In her post, Wickersham shared her experiences on the CBS show, thanking the “top notch” cast and crew for all their times together. “Hangin this hat and jacket up. What a great ride it’s been,” she wrote. “I can’t say enough kind words about this group that I’ve had the pleasure of working with for close to 8 years now and 172 episodes later. This business is finicky and weird and consistency is a rarity. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of a show where I got to show up and act and laugh and learn with wonderful people.” Working on NCIS is an experience she “surely won’t forget,” Wickersham assured, ending her message, “Time goes fast. Eat it up but chew slowly.”

The Season 18 finale also brought into question the future of Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) on the show, as the longtime NCIS star was subject to an explosion on his boat before being seen swimming away. Season 19 of the CBS show premieres in fall 2021, but there have been questions about how much Gibbs will appear in the next season amid discussions about Harmon’s contract.

CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl told Deadline last week the network was taking things season by season when it came to Harmon’s future on the show. “We take it year by year with Mark, we’d love to have him as long as he’d like to be here,” Kahl said. “Even in this past season, he might have been light in a couple of [episodes], so we’re happy to work around his schedule.” Catch up with NCIS on Paramount+, which you can try with a free trial here. Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by ViacomCBS Streaming, a division of ViacomCBS.

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