Like a lot of procedurals, NCIS has been through its fair share of casting changes over the years, from Jennifer Esposito leaving after one season, to series lead Mark Harmon bowing out early into Season 19. Among the higher profile exits was Pauley Perrette, who departed the hit CBS show in a heartbreaking way back in 2018. There’s no question her character, Abby Sciuto, was well liked by many of the fans, but after 15 seasons, the goth forensics specialist decided to start a new chapter of her life and resigned from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
With the show’s canon, Abby reached this decision in the episode “Two Steps Back” following the death of her colleague/friend Clayton Reeves, played by Duane Henry, as she wanted to honor his memory, and his mother’s, by starting a charity to help the homeless. So that accounts for Abby’s motivations, but were the circumstances behind why Perrette left NCIS in the real world? That’s what we’re here to go over.
