NCIS M6: Why did Michael Weatherly (DiNozzo) leave the series?

M6 airs NCIS Season 21 Episode 2 this Saturday, May 11 at 9:50 p.m., which is the team’s farewell scene to Dr. Donald “Ducky,” a doctor with the US Navy’s Criminal Investigative Service.

Titled ‘Farewell Ducky’, the episode, which is dedicated to David McCallum, the character’s interpreter who died last September, also sees the return of Michael Weatherly, who will play Tony DiNozzo, to welcome his friend’s disappearance. But why did the actor decide to leave NCIS 8 years ago?

Reasons for leaving Michael Weatherly

In 2016, after 13 seasons as Tony DiNozzo, Michael Weatherly announced his departure from NCIS. In 2017, the actor explained the reasons for leaving the detective series on AlloCiné.

“It was a surprisingly easy decision once it was made, but it was painful until then“- he explained to our microphone. “When I started the show, I had no idea what was going to happen. “

“Two years later Sasha Alexander left the show and Cote de Pablo joined us. Seasons 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 were creatively more interesting and lively for us; I really flourished as my character became more important and NCIS became a much stronger series around the world, it became the flagship.”

“From seasons 9 and 10, I felt that the magic wasn’t what it used to be, we were having less fun, and Cote de Pablo was gone. He was my number one partner. So I made the decision to go in season 11, but I wanted the team to prepare as much as possible for DiNozzo to leave. So I agreed to do two more seasons before leaving NCIS for good.”

This departure from NCIS allowed the actor to pursue new projects. Just a few months after saying goodbye to the team, he became the main character of the legal series Bull, which ended in 2022 after 6 seasons.

The NCIS adventure continues

However, the NCIS adventure isn’t ready to end for Michael Weatherly just yet. A few weeks ago, Paramount+ announced that a spin-off based around Ziva and DiNozzo would soon see the light of day.

Tentatively titled NCIS: Europe, this new series will follow the adventures of two heroes and their daughter as they investigate across Europe to find out who is after them.

According to Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly, the series will be “Concentrated action, with love, danger, laughter and tears“. John McNamara (The Witches) will serve as showrunner. Filming on NCIS: Europe is set to begin in the coming months to air on Paramount+ next year.