Cote de Pablo once gave a reason for leaving ‘NCIS,’ but the creators didn’t. More recently, the show creators gave their reason for her absence.
Cote de Pablo’s casting as Special Agent Ziva David in season three of NCIS was a brilliant one. Pablo’s VHS audition resulted in her being cast, and the showrunners were immediately smitten with her. Fans were saddened by Pablo’s departure from the show in 2013, since she only made a brief return in seasons 16 and 17 in 2018 and 2019. She didn’t say why she first departed at the time. However, the CEOs provided a fresh explanation that fans might not have known before.
Cote de Pablo ‘wanted to move on’ from ‘NCIS,’ the executive producer explained
Cote de Pablo is one of the most beloved stars in NCIS, and it shook fans when she abruptly left the series in 2013. At the time, she didn’t give a reason why she was leaving the character of Ziva David behind. The show creators spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the situation.
In September 2023, Charles Floyd Johnson, the executive producer of JAG and NCIS, stated to the press, “I think Cote had reached a point where she wanted to move on.” She worked on the program for eight years. A year or two before she left, I spoke with her, and she told me, ‘I don’t know whether I want to do this forever, and at some point, I think I might go.'” “Oh, Cote, please, come on,” I exclaimed. It is such a hit program. How do you intend to proceed? This horse should be ridden all the way to the gate. She responded, “No, I don’t think so.”
Johnson explained that the show had difficulty transitioning from Pablo to Emily Wickersham, who played Eleanor Bishop. “Audiences liked [Cote], but eventually, Emily won out,” Johnson explained. “But, I remember it was a little bumpy with her, where you’d get mail, and people would go, ‘She’s no Cote de Pablo.’ Well, we wrote her very differently for that reason.”
Cote de Pablo said she left because she didn’t like how Ziva David was being written
The executive producer of NCIS gave one reason for Cote de Pablo exiting the series, but Pablo gave another. She said that she didn’t like where the writers were taking her character, Ziva David.
“Unfortunately, because of political things and scripts not being good enough, I chose not to [return to NCIS],” she said, according to Hello! “Look, I love this character! I worked for eight years crafting Ziva when I felt like the character wasn’t being treated with the respect she deserved.”
She noted the writers planned to send Ziva “back to Israel” where she’d live as an “unfortunate, miserable woman.”
“I didn’t think it was fair,” she continued. “I told them until someone can write something really fantastic for Ziva, I won’t come back.”
Pablo’s co-star, David McCallum, felt frustrated that Pablo would walk out on the series. “I just don’t understand how a leading lady in a show that’s worldwide, who ostensibly wants to have a career as an actress, suddenly walks away from such a gem and just vanishes a couple of days before we start production,” he told Digital Spy.
Could she return with Michael Weatherly?
Cote de Pablo making a comeback to NCIS Season 21 would be adored by fans. Is it achievable? Ziva David is unlikely to appear in the upcoming season, although Michael Weatherly gives fans hope for a reunion. Weatherly wished everyone a happy new year on Twitter in January 2023. He wrote, “It’s time to look at time and enjoy the moment.”
“We all would rather look at you and Ziva reuniting and enjoying that moment,” a fan commented.
Weatherly replied, “Stay tuned … for this might be an interesting year for such ‘moments’!”
Does this mean NCIS creators have a reunion in the works? We have no idea, but we hope to see them back.