Is Ellie Bishop Coming Back to 'NCIS'? Here’s Why Emily Wickersham Left the Show

If you watched NCIS during the 2010s, there’s a good chance you remember Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop. Played by Emily Wickersham, the character joined the long-running procedural in Season 11 and quickly became a familiar part of the team. Over the next several seasons, Ellie evolved from a quirky NSA analyst who liked sitting on the floor to one of the show’s most reliable agents.

When Ellie suddenly disappeared from NCIS at the end of Season 18, a lot of fans were left wondering what exactly happened. Fast forward to Season 23, and fans were thrilled to find Emily had returned to play Ellie once more. The question was: Is Ellie Bishop coming back to NCIS, or was that brief return simply a one-time thing?

Confirmed by People Magazine, Ellie did make a brief return to NCIS. Emily reprised the role in a surprise moment during a Season 23 episode as a guest star.

The storyline centers on a mission involving Ellie, who is now believed to be connected to cybercrime. The episode also reveals something fans had suspected for years: Ellie and Special Agent Nick Torres secretly had a romantic relationship before she left the team.

Actor Wilmer Valderrama, who plays Nick, told Parade he was surprised the show decided to make the relationship explicit. “I was surprised that they actually not just implied it but went ahead and had a whole scene,” he said. He added that it caught him off guard because it was this unexpected thing this series never did.

Even though it was exciting to see Ellie again, her appearance doesn’t mean she’s officially back with the team. Per TV Insider, Emily has made it clear she’s open to returning in the future. There, however, aren’t any plans for her to rejoin the show as a regular cast member.

“I’m happy to go back again. I would never close the door on that at all,” she said to TV Insider. "If they wanted me back, I would definitely. It would be fun. We had fun."

For now, however, her return appearances are special cameo guest appearances as opposed to her returning as a regular cast member.

Ellie had been part of the NCIS team for eight seasons before her storyline came to an end in the Season 18 finale. In the episode, Ellie confesses to leaking classified documents and ultimately resigns from NCIS in disgrace.

At first, it looks like the character made a serious mistake. A later episode, however, revealed that the leak was actually part of a larger plan. CIA training officer Odette Malone arranged the scheme so Ellie could leave the agency and begin working deep undercover on a highly classified mission.

Around the same time the episode aired in May 2021, Emily confirmed she was leaving the series in a heartfelt Instagram post. Alongside photos from the set, she thanked the cast and crew for what she described as an incredible eight-year experience.

“Hangin this hat and jacket up,” she wrote. “What a great ride it’s been. This cast, this crew, are top notch.”

Emily later explained that leaving the show simply felt like the right time to move on. Speaking on the Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch podcast, she said she had reached a point where she was ready for a new chapter.

“I was ready to leave the show,” she said. “It was time and I was ready to move on.”

Since stepping away from NCIS, Emily has largely taken a break from acting altogether. During that time, her personal life has changed quite a bit. She married fellow actor James Badge Dale, and the couple welcomed two sons.

Looking at everything that’s happened since her exit, it seems like stepping away from the series gave Emily the chance to slow down and focus on life outside of Hollywood for a while.

That’s part of what made her brief return to NCIS feel so special for longtime viewers. Even if Ellie isn’t officially back with the team right now, the door remains open for her return. For fans, the possibility of her return is enough.