Why did Kate leave ‘NCIS?’ Sasha Alexander’s departure, explained

With a whopping 20 seasons and a 21st on the way, NCIS is the seventh longest-running scripted prime-time show in the U.S., which is saying a lot considering it’s a spin-off of the also Naval-themed drama JAG.

Airing over 450 episodes across 20 years, NCIS has seen its fair share of special agents come and go from the military police procedural. Some have managed to leave the show still alive, while a number have unfortunately met their untimely demise as they depart. One lucky actor even managed to die and come back from the dead.

But many of these “untimely deaths” rubbed fans the wrong way when they aired, and there’s no better example than poor, poor Kate back in season 2. Played by Sasha Alexander, Special Agent Caitlin “Kate” Todd served as the female lead to Mark Harmon’s Agent Gibbs. In the backdoor pilot aired in JAG, originally the female lead was played by Robyn Lively, but by the time NCIS premiered in the fall of 2003, Agent Blackadder was out, and Agent Todd was in.

But it was not to last, as by the end of season 2, Kate met her fatal demise after what seemed to be a happy ending to a case. However, it was a mutual decision between the producers and Alexander.

Rough filming schedule

Working as a series regular on a prime-time show is not for the faint of heart. Other NCIS cast members have spoken in the past about how rough the shooting schedule for the show can be at times. Shooting 24 hour-long episodes a year can lead to 20+ hour shoots at times depending on what’s happening in the episodes. Even Mark Harmon was contemplating quitting NCIS during season 4 because of the hectic shoot schedule.

By the time they were in the midst of shooting NCIS season 2, Alexander was struggling with the schedule. This was her first role as a series regular, and the first time she spent more than a year on a show as well. Towards the end of filming the season, Alexander approached the producers about being written out of the show.

Creator and executive producer Donald P. Bellisario later shared that Alexander asked to be let out of her contract because she didn’t have enough stamina to handle the schedule. This was a big deal, as Kate’s role was such an integral part of the show. So the writers knew they had to make her departure a bang. Though, many weren’t expecting the bang to be a gunshot.

Going after Gibbs

Throughout the first two seasons of NCIS, a recurring opponent of the team is terrorist Ari Haswari, portrayed by Rudolf Martin. Discovered to be a rogue agent working for Hamas, leading an Al-Qaeda cell in D.C., Ari consistently was at war with Gibbs and the team. The culmination of their fight led to the events played out in the season 2 finale “Twilight,” and the season 3 two-part premiere, “Kill Ari.” Unfortunately for Gibbs, Ari wasn’t ready to go down without a fight.

During “Twilight,” the team is trying to solve the mysterious murder of two lieutenants. The murderer purposefully cut off the hands of one of the victims, making the crew think a professional performed the kill. As the investigation continues, they discover a target drone was reported missing from one of the workplaces of the lieutenants. Earlier in the episode, Gibbs is told that Ari is working with the FBI and to not interfiere with his mission. But Gibbs is convinced Ari is their target, and after locating him, he realizes he’s not a double agent, but the leader of the Al-Qaeda cell in DC.

The team descends on Ari’s location but is attacked by terrorists trying to prevent them from reaching Ari. As McGee (Sean Murray) goes after the drone to take control, the rest of the team takes down the terrorists. One of them ends up breaking free and shoots at Gibbs, but Kate takes the bullet for him instead. Thankfully, the bullet hits her in the chest and she ends up surviving. But just as she’s being pulled up by Gibbs and DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), she’s shot straight in the forehead with a sniper rifle, killing her instantly. The camera then pans to Ari on a nearby rooftop, pointing the rifle at the group.

Setting up Kate’s replacement

The events of “Twilight” lead directly into the NCIS season 3 premiere “Kill Ari,” where Gibbs only wants Ari’s head in response to Kate’s murder. However with the introduction of a new NCIS director, Gibbs is told that he cannot pursue Ari as there’s no physical evidence or proof tying Ari to the crime. Later on, a Mossad officer by the name of Ziva Davis (Cote de Pablo) appears, not only siding with the new director, but offering proof of Ari’s innocence.

Depending on when you started watching NCIS, you may have forgotten that Kate’s death directly led to Ziva becoming the new female lead on the team. A fan favorite character for her sexual tension with DiNozzo, Ziva made her debut in “Kill Ari (Part 1)” and remained on the show as a series regular until the season 11 episode “Past, Present, and Future.”

From there, Emily Wickersham took on the female role as Special Agent Ellie Bishop for seasons 11 through 18. Since Wickersham’s departure, Katrina Law has been bringing her feminine energy to the NCIS team as Special Agent Jessica Knight. While the team has seen a many actors come and go over the years, the original female agent still lingers around the office in spirit. Kate may be just a memory, but the NCIS team, and the show’s fans, will never let that memory fade.