“NCIS” has had a few messy exits over its very long network run — if you know anything regarding the real story about Mark Harmon and Pauley Perrette’s relationship, you’re well aware of that. But show business vet David McCallum — who passed away on September 25, 2023, at age 90 — expressed his confusion and dismay about one particular star’s exit from the series.
In January 2016, McCallum discussed his thoughts on Cote de Pablo’s performance as Ziva David and her then-recent departure from the show during an AMA on Reddit. “I was shocked when Cote left, but looking back, it appears that she was unable to meet the expectations that the role placed on her. I’m still not sure what her true motivations are,” he remarked.
McCallum previously expounded on his thoughts in an interview with Digital Spy in 2014. “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.” De Pablo unexpectedly quit “NCIS” before shooting for Season 11 began, which required several quick rewrites and may explain McCallum’s strong feelings on the topic.
While Ziva’s emotional arc was undeniably high-octane stuff, de Pablo would later explain that it was not the toughness of Ziva’s sometimes-violent storyline that made her leave.
Cote de Pablo said the show’s writing caused her to quit NCISWhile emotions have shifted and reasons have changed, Cote de Pablo has consistently pointed to the quality of the writing on “NCIS” to explain her abrupt departure from the series.
“Unfortunately, I chose not to [return to ‘NCIS’] because of political things and scripts not being good enough,” she said to Hello! in 2016. She indicated that it wasn’t an easy or planned decision in a 2013 interview with TV Guide that CBS News has archived. Nevertheless, she was committed to ensuring that Ziva and Anthony DiNozzo’s (Michael Weatherly) romance was properly resolved.
De Pablo had major issues with how the writers planned to continue Ziva’s arc, which encouraged her to depart “NCIS.” “They were going to send [Ziva] back to Israel and make her an unfortunate, miserable woman. I didn’t think it was fair. I told them until someone can write something really fantastic for Ziva I won’t come back,” she said.
Viewers discover Ziva is still alive even though she is initially killed off in an off-screen explosion during Season 11. Her presence influences Anthony’s departure from NCIS in Season 13, as he goes to take care of the daughter she secretly gave birth to while evading capture. In a cliffhanger for Season 16, Ziva reappears, healthy and whole. In Season 17, she makes four appearances as a recurring character before coming back to Tony and her daughter. The tension between the actress and the program appeared to have subsided at that point. Hopefully, de Pablo and McCallum’s conflict also had a pleasant ending.