Why Cote de Pablo And So Many Other Stars Left NCIS

We apologize if this makes you feel old, but NCIS has been on our screens for almost 20 years. Yep, 20 years! So it’s not really a surprise that in that time, many stars have come and gone. But what you might not know is that a number of those big names parted ways in a cloud of controversy and outrage. We’re talking on-set spats and awkward creative differences, to name a few of the reasons. Cote de Pablo’s reason is particularly baffling.

1. Sasha Alexander

Before she starred as medical examiner Maura Isles on seven seasons of TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles, Sasha Alexander was one of the original stars of NCIS. In fact, the latter show’s 2003 pilot episode was based around Alexander’s character Caitlin Todd joining the NCIS team. But in a move that shocked fans, she walked away from the show after only two seasons.

Getting ready to go

Both Alexander and show co-creator Donald Bellisario were honest about the reason for her departure. Bellisario told the Chicago Tribune in 2005, “I had already started writing the last episode of the season and was getting ready to go to Australia to take a little break. [Alexander] came in two days before I was [due] to leave, and with tears in her eyes, she said, ‘I just can’t work this hard.’”

Just too much

The grueling schedule of a network TV show was simply too much for Alexander, and she decided to get out. The star told TV Guide in 2012, “People don’t realize that on a network show you make 24 episodes a year — that’s ten and a half months a year, 17 hours a day. It’s hardcore.”

Going higher up

Bellisario understood Alexander’s predicament, as NCIS is a difficult show to make and a huge commitment for its actors. To his credit, even though she was under contract to CBS, he went to the higher-ups and encouraged them to release her. Bellisario told the Chicago Tribune, “You don’t want to force someone to work when she says this is not what she expected it to be.”