Is Pauley Perrette Coming Back to NCIS? Is Abby Sciuto Returning?
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Now that Michael Weatherly has made a surprise appearance on NCIS, fans are curious if another fan-favorite alum will return to the show. Is Pauley Perrette coming back to NCIS? Keep reading to find out.
NCIS is CBS’ procedural drama that follows the special agents of the Naval Criminal Investigation Service as they investigate criminal activity involving the Navy, the United States Marine Corps and their families. The series first premiered in 2003 and it is the third longest-running scripted primetime series currently on air, behind Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Pauley Perrette starred as the beloved Abby Sciuto, a quirky forensic scientist for the NCIS Major Case Response Team, for the first 15 seasons. She exited the show in 2018, with her character moving to London following the death of Special Agent Clayton Reeves (Duane Henry). Although her departure leaned on the controversial side, fans are still holding out hope that Perrette will return to the series and reprise her role as Abby.
Michael Weatherly, who starred as Tony DiNozzo for seasons 1-13, recently returned to the show for the first time since his 2016 departure. Weatherly will also be reprising his role in the upcoming spinoff series that will center on Tony and Ziva David (played by Cote de Pablo).
Since multiple original cast members are returning to the franchise, fans are curious if Pauley Perrette will be the next one to come back or even get her own spinoff. We have all the details below.
Is Pauley Perrette coming back to NCIS?
Is Pauley Perrette coming back to NCIS? Although the odds of Perrette returning to NCIS are slim, we aren’t ruling it out completely and neither is the CBS Studio president.
During a March 2024 interview with Deadline, David Stapf was asked if Perrette might possibly return to NCIS or get her own standalone spinoff series, to which the network president answered: “Not a bad idea.” He added that they “haven’t talked about it or thought about it,” but would love for her to return.
“We love Pauley, and she’s always welcome in any of the NCIS franchise,” he said. “But it hasn’t come to us from the writers and/or from her. I kind of was kidding when I said, it’s not a bad idea but it’s genuinely not a bad idea, she was a beloved character.”
Although CBS is open to Perrette returning to the franchise in some capacity, she might not be as interested. The actress exited the series back in 2018 due to an incident with Mark Harmon, who played Leroy Jethro Gibbs. As executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter in September 2023, Perrette is an advocate for animal rights and was allegedly concerned about the presence of Harmon’s dog on set.
“In Pauley Perrette’s case, there was an incident with the show with a dog. The dog was Harmon’s, and apparently the dog bit someone. Pauley was a huge, huge SPCA [Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] animal person,” Floyd Johnson said. “And then the dog kept coming with Harmon, and she felt it wasn’t safe for the show. By the end of that year, she just felt like it wasn’t working for her anymore, and it was time to move on.”
Nearly a year after she left, Perrette voice her intentions of never returning to the show. “NO I AM NOT COMING BACK! EVER! (Please stop asking?) I am terrified of Harmon and him attacking me. I have nightmares about it. I have a new show that is SAFE AND HAPPY! You’ll love it! #HappyPlace Love y’all!” she wrote on Twitter.
Although she made her stance pretty clear, it’s possible her feelings have changed in the six years since her departure. Additionally, Harmon is no longer on the show, as he exited in 2021. The actor is, however, involved with another NCIS spinoff series. Harmon is set to executive produce the upcoming sequel series NCIS: Origins alongside his son Sean. He will also be narrating the series, which will center on a young Gibbs in the ’90s.
If not NCIS, perhaps Perrette could potentially make an appearance on Tony and Ziva’s new show. The series is in Europe and the last time viewers saw Abby Sciuto she was heading for London, so it’s not impossible. Stapf told Deadline that right now, the spinoff is not “designed” for other NCIS alums to appear on it, but he teased: “Never say never.”
Episodes of NCIS can be streamed on Paramount+.
For more on NCIS, check out this gallery on the original cast’s real-life partners.
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