NCIS will premiere its 21st season in 2024. As such, cast turnover is certainly understandable. Very few actors want to stick around for 20+ seasons of any show, as enjoyable as a character might be.But one of the cast’s exits fans are still talking about, even though it happened very early on in the show’s run, is that of Caitlin “Kate” Todd. So, why did Kate actor Sasha Alexander leave NCIS?

Why Kate Actor Sasha Alexander Left NCIS
Kate looking angry in NCIS. This image is part of an article about why Kate actor Sasha Alexander left NCIS.

In a 2012 interview with TV Guide, Alexander discussed the grueling filming schedule for NCIS, telling the magazine that “on a network show, you make 24 episodes a year — that’s 10½ months a year, 17 hours a day.” Alexander only ended up appearing on 49 episodes of NCIS, but that ended up being enough for her on that schedule. She went on to add in the same interview that she wouldn’t be where she is, married, with kids, and creatively satisfied if she’d stayed on the network procedural.

Other actors have not been as clear as Alexander about their reasons for departing, but the filming schedule and the number of episodes per season have played a part in the multiple cast departures NCIS has had during the years. Alexander was the first of the original cast to depart the show, but going into Season 21, no member of the original cast remains on the show.

David McCallum, who played Donald “Ducky” Mallard, passed away in 2023. Mark Harmon, meanwhile, left the show after having played Leroy Gibbs regularly for 19 seasons.

How Did Caitlin “Kate” Todd Die?
Kate holding a gun in NCIS. This image is part of an article about why Kate actor Sasha Alexander left NCIS.

Other NCIS characters – like the beloved Ziva David and her on-screen love interest, Tony DiNozzo – have been written off in a way that has allowed a way back for the characters, but that was not the case with Sasha Alexander’s Kate Todd. Instead, Kate is shot in the head by sniper and Mossad double agent Ari Haswari in the Season 2 finale, titled “Twilight.”

Worst of all, Kate’s death isn’t even about Kate, not really. Later, in the Season 3 episode titled “Kill Ari,” it is revealed that Haswari killed Kate because he wanted to cause Gibbs, the Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Major Case Response Team and Kate’s boss, pain. So, Kate’s death becomes just another thing the show milks as a storytelling device for Gibbs’ manpain.

That was probably not a consideration for Alexander at the time of her departure, but it probably helps cement how right the decision was. Between the grueling schedule and the fact that Kate was merely a vehicle for a male character, what was the point of staying?