‘NCIS’ Star Addresses Rumors They’re Leaving the Show

A longtime NCIS star is addressing rumors of an impending departure.

There have been rumors as of late that Sean Murray could be thinking about leaving the long-running CBS procedural.

Murray has portrayed Special Agent Timothy McGee since Season 1, and even 23 seasons in he doesn’t seem to be leaving any time soon, you never know how much longer he’ll be on the show. The actor has heard about the rumors and told TVLine, “There’s always an element of the gossip thing that comes up.”

That being said, Muray added, “Things can take big, unexpected turns with characters. I mean, things can happen. No one is ever quite safe on this show. We have our light moments and this and that.” Referring to the Season 2 finale where Sasha Alexander’s Caitlin Todd died, Murray said, “Don’t forget: We were also the show [where] one of the lead characters took a bullet and died at the end of Season 2.”

In April 2024, Murray had a similar response to his future on the show, telling PEOPLE that “no one is quite safe.” He continued, “I think we learned this with things that have happened on the show over the years… No one is quite safe. Obviously, been here 21 years, [I] have enjoyed, immensely, being a part of this show and continue to be incredibly grateful to be a part of this show, but you never know what’s going to happen.”

According to IMDb, Murray has appeared in nearly 500 episodes of NCIS, and that doesn’t even include his appearances on the spinoffs. NCIS has been known to throw in some pretty big surprises and exits over the years, or has led fans to believe a major character is leaving or being killed off when they don’t. At this point, it’s hard to imagine NCIS without McGee, but for now, it seems like he is safe. But that could change at any time. He did just get kidnapped in the latest episode, so the show isn’t quite done pulling out the punches.

Along with Murray, NCIS Season 23 stars Rocky Carroll, Brian Dietzen, Wilmer Valderrama, Diona Reasonover, Katrina Law, and Gary Cole. The series is off next week, but new episodes of NCIS return on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, streaming the next day on Paramount+.