Emily Wickersham looks back on her NCIS exit three years later. In season 11, Wickersham joined the NCIS cast as Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop, an NSA agent who took on a joint position with the titular agency in the wake of Ziva David’s departure. Bishop would prove to be a capable agent in her own right and was at the center of a number of dramatic storylines during her time on the show. She left the team in NCIS season 18 and hasn’t returned since.
Wickersham recently appeared on Off-Duty: An NCIS Rewatch podcast, which is hosted by former stars Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo. During the conversation (via CinemaBlend), the actor opened up about what it was like to leave NCIS when she did, explaining that it happened during a period of her life that would become more significant than she initially realized. Wickersham said:
It took a while. I left the show, I found out I was pregnant a month later… So it was a combo of decompressing and trying to really relax and figure out how things were going to be without work. Because as you guys know, it’s all consuming. Your life is all NCIS when you’re on that show. It’s all day, every day, and you’re not really left with much time to do many things outside of that. So that was a real adjustment for me.
It was wild to go into pregnancy, and then I moved to New York really shortly after because my boyfriend lives here. It was a weird moment in time. It was wonderful and weird. As you both know, it’s strange to leave something that has been ingrained in you for so many years.
It was, for sure. I don’t know if I was necessarily ready, but it, it happened and it was amazing. I was ready to leave the show. It was time and I was ready to move on to something else, and I guess this was the something else I was meant to move on to. So it was good.
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Why Every Main Character Left NCIS
NCIS is one of TV’s longest-running shows, currently approaching its 21st season. Over the years, plenty of characters have taken their leave.
Can Ellie Bishop Ever Return To NCIS?
A Future Spinoff Might Provide The Perfect Opportunity
Bishop’s NCIS exit was a rather dramatic affair. Ziva’s surprise return in season 16 brought Bishop into contact with Odette Malone (Elayn J. Taylor), a CIA agent who worked with Ziva on secretive cases. The meeting was a fruitful one, as Bishop eventually left NCIS in order to work with Malone on missions. To do so, though, she had to discredit herself. She revealed she had leaked NSA secrets, and thus could no longer be an agent. This gave her the space to take on a more covert job; presumably, she has been working on vital missions ever since.
At the same time, the flagship show might not be the best place for Bishop.
Because of her stained name, it doesn’t seem likely that Bishop will ever get to work for NCIS ever again. However, Wickersham could still come back. Bishop could return to DC to secretively pass on some information about a case, or to simply reunite with her old teammates. She became close with both Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and Torres (Wilmer Valderrama), and while the former is no longer on the team, the latter is still there. Bishop and Torres’ relationship ended on a bittersweet note when they kissed right before she left, and a reunion could tie off some loose ends.
Though Bishop and Torres acknowledged they had feelings for each other, they never became a proper couple.
At the same time, the flagship show might not be the best place for Bishop. Weatherly and de Pablo will soon lead their own show, Paramount+’s NCIS: Tony & Ziva, which will find their characters on the run in Europe. With Bishop’s status as a covert operative and her connection to Odette, she could be an excellent ally for Tony and Ziva. She could give them vital intel, or provide a safe house when needed. Wickersham’s appearance on the NCIS podcast shows she hasn’t left the property behind entirely, so perhaps there is a future for Bishop after all.
Source: Off-Duty: An NCIS Rewatch (via CinemaBlend)
