Pauley Perrette claims she will never ‘ever’ return to NCIS

If you’re an NCIS fan, you’re an Abby Sciuto fan. The character was an integral part of what made the show so compelling for its first fifteen seasons, and she’s never really been replaced. She may have even been the show’s most recognizable character outside of Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon), so it stands to reason that fans are curious about her future with the titular organization.

Gibbs walked away from NCIS last season, so bringing a character like Sciuto back into the fold would make sense. It would help to smooth over the absence of the former, and provide some nostalgic thrills for longtime viewers.

Especially when you consider that Sciuto was close with Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard, who will be written off the show following the death of actor David McCallum. Unfortunately, the character will not be coming back to the show anytime soon.

Is Abby Sciuto coming back to NCIS?

The actress who plays Sciuto, Pauley Perrette, did not leave NCIS on good terms. According to Hello! Magazine, Perrette asked that Harmon’s dog no longer be allowed on the set after the dog bit a crew member, and Harmon’s refusal to honor her request led to professional tension. They stopped filming scenes together after a while, and eventually, Perrette decided she wanted to leave the show.

Perrette went on to allude to additional struggles during a 2018 Twitter rant. “I refused to go low, that’s why I’ve never told publicly what happened,” she wrote. “But there are tabloid articles out there that are telling total lies about me. If you believe them? Please leave me alone. You clearly don’t know me. (Sorry guys, had to be said).”

In a separate tweet, dated 2019, the actress wrote the following:

Harmon and the producers did not address Perrette’s statements publicly, but things do not seem to have gotten between the camps in the years since. The Hollywood Reporter ran an oral history on NCIS to celebrate the show’s twentieth anniversary, and in it, executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson briefly acknowledged the dog incident. “By the end of that year, she just felt like it wasn’t working for her anymore, and it was time to move on”, he opined. Nothing else was revealed about the disagreement.

Perrette did pen a touching tribute to the aforementioned David McCallum upon learning of his death. She posted a series of photos from the set of NCIS, along with the message: “What a life. What a legend. What a journey. And your legacy Will always be The love you have for your family. Love to Katherine and the kids and the grandkids, your absolutely very favorite things.”

After leaving NCIS, Perrette appeared in NBC sitcom Broke opposite Natasha Leggero, and announced her retirement on social media in 2021, meaning hopes of an onscreen reunion between Sciuto and the NCIS cast are nonexistent.