Actor Rocky Carroll, star of the TV series “NCIS,” passed away suddenly at his home md20

Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop is back on NCIS, even if only briefly.

After returning from its winter hiatus, the long-running CBS series aired a new season 23 episode on March 3, featuring Emily Wickersham, who reprised her role as the special agent.

Wickersham joined the cast of NCIS in season 11, playing Bishop for eight seasons. The actress left at the end of season 18 in 2021 and took a break from acting. Today, she and her husband, fellow actor James Badge Dale, are parents of two sons.

So, why did Emily Wickersham leave NCIS? Here’s everything to know about her decision to depart from the procedural show and whether her comeback is permanent.

Why did Emily Wickersham leave NCIS?

When Bishop left in season 18, her storyline ended in what seemed like disgrace, but it was, in fact, a carefully constructed ruse.

In the season 18 finale, “Rule 91,” Bishop was accused of leaking classified documents, something she confessed to, which led to her resigning from NCIS.

It was later revealed that the document leak was a cover story by CIA training officer Odette Malone (Elayn J. Taylor), so Bishop could leave the team and go deep undercover on a top-secret mission.

Wickersham announced she was leaving the longtime series in an Instagram post she shared on the same day the NCIS finale aired, May 25, 2021.

“Hangin this hat and jacket up. What a great ride it’s been,” she captioned black-and-white photos of herself on the show’s set. “This cast, this crew, are top notch. I can’t say enough kind words about this group that I’ve had the pleasure of working with for close to 8 years now and 172 episodes later.”

“This business is finicky and weird and consistency is a rarity. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of a show where I got to show up and act and laugh and learn with wonderful people,” the actress continued. “A moment in time I surely won’t forget.”

As for the reason, she told the Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch podcast in August 2024 that she wanted to close that chapter of her career. “I was ready to leave the show. … It was time and I was ready to move on,” Wickersham said.

What did Emily Wickersham do after leaving NCIS?

Wickersham took a break from acting after leaving NCIS, with Bishop being her most recent role, according to her IMDb.

Since her time on NCIS, Wickersham has celebrated several milestones in her personal life.

She and her husband Dale have welcomed two sons: Cassius on Dec. 31, 2021, and Zephyr on Oct. 2, 2024. Shortly before Zephyr’s birth, the actors married on Sept. 27, 2024.

During her appearance on the Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch podcast in August 2024, Wickersham revealed she found out she was pregnant a month after she left the series.

“So, it was like a combo of decompressing and trying to really like relax and figure out how things were going to be without work,” she said about her life after NCIS. “Because … it’s all consuming. Your life is all NCIS when you’re on that show. It’s all day every day, and you’re not really left with much time to do many things outside of that.”

In addition to getting married and becoming a mom, Wickersham also moved from Los Angeles to New York City in the years since she left the series.

When did Emily Wickersham return to NCIS?

Wickersham made a brief surprise appearance at the end of the Dec. 16 episode, “Heaven and Nature,” and returned as a guest star on the March 3 episode, “Her.”

In “Her,” NCIS: Elite’s first mission is focused on Bishop, who is believed to be a cyber criminal. The episode not only featured Bishop, but confirmed she had a secret romance with Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) before she left the NCIS team.

“I was surprised that they actually not just implied it but went ahead and had a whole scene,” Valderrama told Parade in March 2026 about the relationship reveal. “That was pretty unexpected. We don’t do those things on the show.”

“So, the fact that they were able to push the show to do different things was really cool to see that the show can actually go to places that the fans will want to discover,” he continued.

“Her” also had a reunion between Bishop and other NCIS members, including Special Agent Jessica Knight (Katrina Law), the lead of the Elite team, who was tasked with hunting down Bishop. Law’s character was introduced at the end of season 18, as Wickersham was leaving the series.

Is Emily Wickersham part of the NCIS cast again?

Wickersham is not a permanent member of the NCIS cast again, but “the door’s open” for the actress to return for more episodes in the future.

“I’m happy to go back again. I would never close the door on that at all,” Wickersham told TV Insider in February 2026. “I feel so lucky to have been able to work there for so many years, and it’s such a great set and it’s such a great team. If they wanted me back, I would definitely. It would be fun. We had fun.”

Bishop could be back, but according to a different TV Insider interview with executive producer Steven D. Binder in December 2025, it’s just the one episode “for now.”