Actors We Wish Would Return to ‘NCIS,’ ‘NCIS: Los Angeles,’ ‘Chicago Fire,’ and More
Actors come and go during a series, but there are some cast exits we just can’t get over. Here are some actors we wish would return to NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Chicago Fire, and more of our favorite shows.
‘NCIS’: Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon exited the show during NCIS Season 19 Episode 4 (titled “Great Wide Open”). His character, Gibbs, decided it was time to slow down the pace and retire in Alaska.
There are rumors that Harmon (and fellow NCIS actor Michael Weatherly) could return to the series. It’s unclear whether this would be a guest spot or a permanent arrangement. “Never count Leroy Jethro Gibbs out,” says executive producer Steven D. Binder during PaleyFest, reports Parade. “What the future will hold I can’t say, but I wouldn’t count anybody out, dead or alive, on the show.”
‘Chicago Fire’: Jesse Spencer
Jesse Spencer left the series during Chicago Fire Season 10 Episode 5 (titled “Two Hundred”). His character, Matt Casey, decides to move to Oregon so that he can take care of his friend’s children. He felt compelled to leave Firehouse 51 because the children would end up in foster care if he didn’t pitch in.
Why did Spencer leave Chicago Fire? He says he felt it was time to pursue other projects; he has been an actor for almost two decades, and he wanted to try something new.
“I’ve been doing TV for a long time,” Spencer tells Us Weekly. “I added it up, and I think this year is my 18th year of network television straight since I went straight from House into Chicago Fire.”
‘The Good Doctor’: Nicholas Gonzalez
Nicholas Gonalez, who played Neil Melendez on The Good Doctor, left the show during season 3 episode 20 (titled “I Love You”). His character died from septic shock after sustaining injuries during an earthquake.
Unlike the other exits, Gonzalez’s departure reportedly wasn’t voluntary. His character was written out of the popular drama. Gonzalez was heartbroken over the way things ended for him. He would have liked to remain on the show a little longer.
“Part of me is sad to see a character I respected a lot go, someone I felt that still had a lot more to say but there wasn’t always that opportunity,” Gonzalez told Entertainment Weekly. “And I feel like we really built a beautiful world around that character, as much as can be in a show like ours where we’re still a procedural as well.”
‘NCIS: Los Angeles’: Renée Felice Smith
Renée Felice Smith exited the show during NCIS: Los Angeles Season 12 Episode 18 (titled “A Tale of Two Igors”). Her character decided to leave the agency to pursue a new opportunity with Eric Beale (played by actor Barrett Foa).
After ending her run as an NCIS actor, Smith went on to become an author. She spoke to Showbiz Cheat Sheet about her children’s book Hugo and the Impossible Thing.
“We wrote Hugo and the Impossible Thing as a celebration,” Smith tells Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “Hugo, our canine son, recovered from a life-threatening illness. It was an inoperable brain tumor that almost everyone told us would be impossible to beat, but Hugo beat it.”
Follow Sheiresa Ngo on Twitter.
