After more than two decades on the air, NCIS has officially bid farewell to its final original cast member. The long-running CBS series continues to change, and with the most recent season, another significant person from its early days has been quietly written out.
Following the death of David McCallum (Ducky Mallard) in 2023, the only remaining tie to the show’s very first episode was the recurring character Tobias Fornell, played by Joe Spano. Fornell, a fan-favorite FBI agent and longtime ally of Gibbs (Mark Harmon), last appeared in the series’ landmark 1000th episode earlier this year. However, his absence from recent episodes-most notably “Sticks and Stones,” which introduced a new FBI face, Deputy Director Wayne Sweeney (Erik Passoja)-suggests that Fornell’s time on NCIS may have come to an end.
Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) is now the longest-running active cast member, having joined in season one. While the cast of NCIS has changed several times, new characters continue to carry the torch, keeping the famous cr1me drama alive after 22 seasons.
Meanwhile, the NCIS universe is expanding. A new spinoff, NCIS: Tony and Ziva, is currently in development, reuniting original stars Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo. The series will follow Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David’s life together after their off-screen reunion in Paris, bringing back the chemistry that captivated fans in earlier seasons.
As the main series enters a new chapter, loyal viewers may expect to see familiar people return-albeit in a different form.
