Emily Wickersham confirms NCIS exit: ‘What a great ride it’s been’

It appears Agent Ellie Bishop has indeed worked her last cast as part of the NCIS team. Hours after the NCIS season 18 finale hinted at the character’s departure, actress Emily Wickersham has confirmed she will not be returning for the show’s next season.

“Hangin this hat and jacket up. What a great ride it’s been,” the actress wrote on Instagram confirming her decision to leave the series after nearly eight years as part of the cast.

Wickersham went on to thank CBS and the NCIS team for allowing her to be a part of the show’s legacy, an honor that was not lost on her.

"“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,” Wickersham added. “A moment in time I surely won’t forget. Thank you CBS and NCIS for including me in a part of television history. “"

Wickersham first joined the NCIS cast in season 11’s “Gut Check,” which introduced NSA Analyst Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop as part of a three-episode arc. The guest arc eventually led to her being promoted as a series regular roughly a month after she first joined the show.

Why did Emily Wickersham leave NCIS?

Although Emily Wickersham confirmed she will be leaving NCIS and won’t be returning for season 19, it remains unclear why exactly she chose to depart the series. Given the statement she released on Instagram following the season 18 finale, it appears she is leaving the show on good terms which suggests the decision was made by the actress for personal reasons.

Wickersham’s future on the show was called into question when in the season 18 finale, her character Ellie Bishop seemed to cut ties with NCIS in looking to leave the country to begin a new chapter.

In the episode, Bishop was accused of leaking NSA information during her time as an analyst. While she protested the claims at first, she later confessed her guilt, turned in her gun and badge, and walked away from NCIS. In the character’s final scene, Torres pieced together that Bishop’s move was calculated and stemmed from her working with Odette, the former CIA operative who worked alongside Ziva over the years.

As Torres deduced, Bishop’s orchestrated the whole ordeal with the NSA leak as part of her cover story as a disgruntled NCIS agent in preparing to go undercover. The two shared one emotional goodbye kiss and Bishop then walked away leaving her future unclear.

With Wickersham now confirming she won’t be returning, it’s hard to determine whether the storyline was written to accommodate her request to leave the show or if the writers felt the character’s story had reached an organic end.

The good thing is the door remains open for Wickersham to return in the future.