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3 NCIS characters who probably won’t be back for season 21

By Cody Schultz

“Road to Nowhere” – Gibbs and Parker go on a road trip to find one of the serial killer’s victims. Also, Agent Knight goes undercover at a large manufacturing company with ties to the murders, on the CBS Original series NCIS, Monday, Oct. 4 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Rocky Carroll directed the episode. Pictured: Mark Harmon as NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Gary Cole as FBI Special Agent Alden Parker. Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
“Road to Nowhere” – Gibbs and Parker go on a road trip to find one of the serial killer’s victims. Also, Agent Knight goes undercover at a large manufacturing company with ties to the murders, on the CBS Original series NCIS, Monday, Oct. 4 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Rocky Carroll directed the episode. Pictured: Mark Harmon as NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Gary Cole as FBI Special Agent Alden Parker. Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. /
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NCIS season 21 might not be coming this fall, but the good news is that when season 21 finally arrives in 2024 all of our favorite agents will be back on the case!

Although CBS hasn’t confirmed much about the upcoming season of NCIS due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, it is expected that Sean Murray, Wilmer Valderrama, Katrina Law, Brian Dietzen, Diona Reasonover, Gary Cole, and Rocky Carroll will all be back to reprise their roles in season 21.

While we’re expecting all of NCIS‘s series regulars back for the show’s next season, there are definitely some characters we’re thinking might not be returning in season 21. After all, the season is expected to be one of the show’s shortest seasons meaning the writers will have to keep things tight and might not have room for too many surprises when it comes to guest appearances.

As we look ahead to the upcoming season of NCIS, let’s take a look at three characters who we probably won’t be seeing in season 21.

“Great Wide Open” – Gibbs and McGee head to Alaska while the team works at home to uncover the conspiracy behind the serial killer, on the CBS Original series NCIS, Monday, Oct. 11 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Pictured: Mark Harmon as NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
“Great Wide Open” – Gibbs and McGee head to Alaska while the team works at home to uncover the conspiracy behind the serial killer, on the CBS Original series NCIS, Monday, Oct. 11 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Pictured: Mark Harmon as NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. /

Will Gibbs be in NCIS season 21?

Of course, the character we’re all hoping to see back in season 21 is Special Agent Gibbs; however, it’s unlikely we’re going to see Gibbs back on the job next season. When Mark Harmon walked away from the show, he’s not looked back and it’s very unlikely he’s going to make an appearance in front of the camera next season.

While Harmon has remained a part of the NCIS family via his executive producer role on the show, he’s not appeared in an episode of the show directly since the fourth episode of season 19. Nor has he expressed any interest in returning after his departure as Gibbs.

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Although it’s unlikely we’ll see Gibbs back in season 21, the show has done an amazing job of making his presence felt on the show since Harmon’s exit. Gibbs’ name has been dropped several times since Harmon’s exit and we’re optimistic this is a trend that will continue in season 21.

“In a Nutshell” — As the NCIS team investigates the death of a Navy officer murdered the same way as his parents a decade ago, they stumble across a storage container filled with dollhouses that display recreations of murder scenes. Also, the team agrees to clean out their living spaces, but some have a harder time saying goodbye to their possessions than others, on NCIS, Tuesday, March 10 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Emily Wickersham as NCIS Special Agent Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop, Mark Harmon as NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Photo: Eddy Chen/CBS ©2020 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
“In a Nutshell” — As the NCIS team investigates the death of a Navy officer murdered the same way as his parents a decade ago, they stumble across a storage container filled with dollhouses that display recreations of murder scenes. Also, the team agrees to clean out their living spaces, but some have a harder time saying goodbye to their possessions than others, on NCIS, Tuesday, March 10 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Emily Wickersham as NCIS Special Agent Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop, Mark Harmon as NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Photo: Eddy Chen/CBS ©2020 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. /

Will Bishop be in NCIS season 21?

NCIS has seen its fair share of shocking and unexpected exits over the years, and Emily Wickersham’s departure in the season 18 finale definitely secured a place on that list. No one was prepared to see Bishop leave the team, especially in the way she did, and her absence absolutely left fans wanting more.

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely we’re going to see Bishop return in the show’s upcoming season due largely to the fact that the show is going to have to tell an incredibly tight storyline with a shortened season ahead.

As much as we’d love to see Bishop back, there has been no indication that her return is in the cards, but the open-ended nature of her exit definitely left the door open for her to pop back up down the line.

Who knows, maybe the writers will surprise us and bring Bishop back in season 21 for a surprise guest appearance to resolve some of those unresolved feelings between her and Torres. However, we’re not holding out hope for Bishop’s return to come in season 21.

“Ex-File”–The NCIS team (Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, center, and Cote de Pablo) investigates the murder of a Marine Captain who had access to highly classified information, on NCIS, Tuesday, Oct. 9 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS ©2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Will Tony be in NCIS season 21?

There have been a lot of agents to come and go over the years, but Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo will always hold a special place in the hearts of fans. Tony was one of the original members of the cast and was often at the center of some of the show’s biggest storylines, including its most epic love story.

Ever since Michael Weatherly left the show at the end of season 13, there has been hope among fans that Tony might one day return. After all, Tony is still alive and has a lot of family still at NCIS. And with Weatherly no longer leading another show, the odds seem to have gone up since CBS wouldn’t have to work around Bull‘s filming schedule.

It looked like fans would finally get their wish in season 20 after Weatherly took to Twitter to tease a possible return, but the tease ultimately did not come to fruition as Tony did not return in season 20.

Given there seems to be an interest on Weatherly’s part to return, we can’t rule out the possibility of Tony making a surprise return in season 21. However, given how massive a return such as Tony’s would be and the fact that he hinted his return would be contingent upon Cote de Pablo returning alongside him to reprise her role as Ziva David, a lot of stars would have to align for Tony’s return to happen in season 21.

Next. Blue Bloods characters who probably won’t be back. dark

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