NCIS said goodbye to Rocky Carroll's Leon Vance in Season 23, when the character's death exposed corruption within the agency. Now, with Vance gone, I thought they'd replace him when the show returns to the 2026 TV schedule. So, I was shocked to learn that the team behind NCIS is in no rush to do that. However, executive producer Steven D. Binder shared why they're doing this, and it makes a lot of sense.
Binder spoke to TV Insider about Carroll's exit and the decision to hold off on rushing in another star as the new director of NCIS. He explained that rather than immediately filling the role and incorporating another character into the mix, he's more content with allowing the series to get back to stories that center more heavily on the core team:
