NCIS: Origins Cast Guide: Every Major New And Returning Character

After starring in just one season of NCIS, Jennifer Esposito departed the long-running CBS series. The actor was already well-known for her fan-favorite role in another CBS crime drama, Blue Bloods, where she played Detective Jackie Curatola. However, she left that series early (until her return in Season 13) before being cast in NCIS as Special Agent Alex Quinn.

So why did Esposito bow out of another popular show — and why do it so quickly? Fans were concerned that Quinn’s story wouldn’t be resolved since her tenure was so short. But NCIS managed to wrap up her plot as best it could. Here’s what fans need to know about NCIS‘ Agent Quinn and the circumstances behind Esposito’s surprising departure when she seemed like a great fit for the consistently popular procedural.

Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on July 12, 2024: The NCIS franchise is expanding, with new spinoffs following a young Gibbs and the long-departed Tony and Ziva in development. These long-awaited character returns have led to speculation that other long-lost personalities could return as well, including Jennifer Esposito’s Alex Quinn. This article has been updated to include more information about Quinn’s departure and potential return and to adhere to CBR’s current formatting guidelines.

What Happened To Quinn On NCIS?

​​Special Agent Alexandra “Alex” Quinn was introduced in the NCIS Season 14 premiere, “Rogue.” She had left the field to become a trainer at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. However, Mark Harmon’s character, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, brought her back into the fold in another example of Gibbs’ true NCIS legacy of repurposing the careers of washed-out agents. He convinced Quinn to join his team, and she was later involved in numerous Season 14 storylines, many of which emphasized the character’s tragic backstory.

• Jennifer Esposito appears in 24 episodes of NCIS
• Special Agent Alex Quinn makes her first appearance in Season 14, Episode 1: “Rogue”
• Alex Quinn makes her final appearance in Season 14, Episode 24: “Rendezvous”

In Season 14, Episode 5 of the long-running police procedural, entitled “Philly,” it is revealed that Quinn’s former partner was killed on a stakeout in Philadelphia, and that resulted in her stepping back from field operations. Quinn felt guilt over her partner’s death for many years because he only left the car during the stakeout to give her privacy while she was on the phone with her fiancé. While on another case in Philadelphia, she visited his widow and now 13-year-old son to try and make amends.

During the Season 14 finale, Quinn received a phone call from her mother, Marie, although the audience wasn’t privy to what the call was about. And by NCIS‘ Season 15 premiere, Quinn was gone. The only explanation provided was that she left to care for her mother, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s. This was a sudden and surprising exit from a character who had only been around for one season. Even Sasha Alexander’s character, Kate Todd, had a longer run on the show than Quinn.

Why Did Quinn Leave NCIS?

According to Deadline, NCIS producers were behind Jennifer Esposito’s exit from the series, contending that “the show [planned] to go in a new creative direction” that didn’t involve Alex Quinn. Esposito confirmed that in a subsequent tweet, stating she “[w]as not meant to be [on NCIS] long” but was happy about the experience:

• NCIS has lost many series regulars over the years, including Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Michael Weatherly’s Anthony DiNozzo, Pauley Perrette’s Abby Scuito, Cote de Pablo’s Ziva David, and many more.
• The first series regular to depart NCIS was Sasha Alexander’s Caitlin Todd, who was killed at the end of Season 2.
• David McCallum is the only character to be credited as a series regular for 20 seasons of NCIS, though the actor’s recent death means he will not appear in Season 21.

Like any long-running series, NCIS has said goodbye to several main characters, including Gibbs, who Alden Parker replaced. However, Esposito’s story is notable because of her character’s short tenure — she’s the only series regular to leave after just one season — and the relative lack of explanation, or fanfare, over her departure. The series has long since moved on from her character’s storyline, making it seem unlikely that she will ever return in future seasons. Nevertheless, characters like Ziva David have returned to NCIS after extended hiatuses. As such, viewers should never fully rule out Jennifer Esposito’s return to the series.

Can Alex Quinn Ever Return To NCIS?

The recent announcements of new NCIS spinoffs following fan-favorite characters who have long since left the series completely upended the franchise’s status quo. Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs left NCIS in Season 19, but a spinoff series, NCIS: Origins, will follow a younger version of the character as he begins his career that will eventually lead him to where audiences first meet him in JAG. Likewise, Michael Weatherly’s Anthony DiNozzo and Cote de Pablo’s Ziva David will return for a new spinoff depicting their long-awaited reunion after years apart. With all three of these characters returning, it wouldn’t be out of the question for other long-departed characters to appear in upcoming years.

• NCIS Season 22 is set to premiere sometime in Fall 2024.
• NCIS: Tony & Ziva is expected to premiere sometime in 2024, though no official release date has been announced.
• NCIS: Origins will premiere on September 1, 2024.

Although Alex Quinn likely isn’t a popular enough character to warrant getting her own spinoff series, she could still appear in other NCIS shows in the future. NCIS: Tony & Ziva has room for cameos from other franchise stars, including Jennifer Esposito. The upcoming spinoff is the perfect place to bring back old characters, rounding out the cast of the new series. Nevertheless, Esposito’s involvement has yet to be confirmed by any official source and, therefore, remains firmly in the realm of speculation.

What Has Jennifer Esposito Done Since Leaving NCIS?

Jennifer Esposito’s departure from NCIS didn’t hamper her career, as the actress has continued to have a prolific career in recent years. Known for her work in popular police procedurals, one of Esposito’s most exciting career moves since departing NCIS was her return to Blue Bloods. The actress portrayed Detective Jackie Curatola in the first three seasons of the Tom Selleck-led series before departing in 2012. Over a decade later, Curatola finally returned in the Season 13 finale, “Forgive Us Our Trespassers,” where it was revealed that she had become the Chief of Police in Suffolk County. Curatola’s return helped give her character a more satisfying ending than the one she received in Season 3.

• Jennifer Esposito’s highest-rated project on Rotten Tomatoes is 2022’s Somewhere in Queens, with a 90% Freshness rating. She portrays Pamela Carmelo in the film.
• Jennifer Esposito’s lowest-rated project on Rotten Tomatoes is 2018’s Speed Kills, with a 0% Freshness rating. In the film, she portrays Kathy Aronoff.
• According to IMDb, Jennifer Esposito has 68 acting credits from her work in television and movies.

Esposito’s post-NCIS career has not been relegated to arcs in police procedurals, though she has recently appeared in similar series like Law and Order: SVU and Blindspot. One of the actress’s more prominent television roles since leaving NCIS was that of Susan Raynor in Amazon Prime Video’s hit superhero series The Boys. The ill-fated ally of Billy Butcher appeared in six episodes of the series, wherein she attempted to help bring down the villainous company Vought International and its league of superheroes known as The Seven. However, she was horrifically murdered by Victoria Neuman. The actress also had a recurring role as Brenda in Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens and as Nina Solloway in The Affair.

More recently, Jennifer Esposito teamed up with Everybody Loves Raymond star Ray Romano for the 2022 comedy Somewhere in Queens. In the film, Esposito portrays Pamela Carmelo, a woman to whom Ray Romano’s character begins to find himself attracted. The film received largely positive reviews from critics and audiences, becoming one of the highest-rated projects in Esposito’s long career. Other recent film projects, including 2018’s Speed Kills and 2019’s Mob Town, received far less critical acclaim, though they allowed the actress to work with big-name stars like John Travolta and David Arquette. Esposito’s latest venture was her 2023 movie Fresh Kills, where she made her directorial and screenwriting debut. The film rated 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and follows Esposito as a mother marrying into an organized crime family.

Although Jennifer Esposito’s departure from NCIS may have been disappointing, the split seems amicable. The series has survived in her absence, introducing multiple new characters that have helped keep storylines fresh and new. Likewise, Esposito has enjoyed a profitable career, making herself known in film and television projects.