22 years after its debut, the last original cast member of NCIS is leaving the series

NCIS is one of the longest-running and most beloved crime series on television. Since its debut in 2003, the fiction has been shaped in a unique style, following the professional life of the US Navy’s Criminal Investigative Service team. Its success has created its own television universe, with several spin-offs centered on different cities and two recent projects, NCIS: Origins, which explores the first missions of its iconic character, Gibbs, but also NCIS: Tony & Ziva, which tells the adventures of the beloved couple.

However, the original show’s 22nd season just presented us with a surprise farewell that marks the end of an era: the departure of Joe Spano, the series’ last remaining original cast member. Yes, she is indeed the last cast member of the show to appear in the very first episode. To remind you, Sean Murray (Timothy McGee) appeared only from the seventh episode.

Joe Spanowho played the unforgettable FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell, one of the most beloved characters in fiction. Since his debut in the series, he has become a series regular, appearing in 58 episodes and all seasons, a record (impossible) that no other recurring character has achieved. This actor himself did not want to be the main character and refused to appear, and his reasons will surprise you: discover them here.

Spano’s departure represents not only the loss of a legendary character, but the series’ final link to its roots. He makes his last appearance in the episode Sticks & Stones (22×04), suggesting that his presence is no longer needed in the plot. Since his character officially left the FBI, his role has become increasingly sporadic, though he always returns whenever the team needs his help or knowledge to solve a case. Now, it seems, the hero was able to finish his story.

The showrunners will have to justify her return, if there is a return

Obviously, this goodbye leaves the door open again. Although Fornell is no longer with the FBI and has been replaced by Todd Sweeney (Eric Pasoja), a new character who was meant to be the liaison between the FBI and the NCIS team, the possibility of his return is not entirely out of the question. The showrunners may introduce the character again in a future episode, but now they have to justify his presence and he has to be essential to the plot, especially now that there’s another FBI agent with an ongoing role in the plot.

Unlike Fornell, whose friendship with Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and the NCIS team has grown over the years, Sweeney is more of an institutional figure, and his personality and modus operandi are completely different. This creates a breath of fresh air for the series, as the characters will have to change the team dynamics we’ve become accustomed to in recent years.

so that NCIS bids farewell to its last original cast member and closes an important chapter in its long television career. departure of Joe Spano It marks the end of an era, but also represents an opportunity NCIS to adapt and renew itself.

Season 22 of NCIS currently airs every Monday on CBS in the US. While you wait to discover it in France, find the first 18 seasons of the show on Prime Video. The series also airs on 6Ter and W9.