NCIS Season 22, Episode 1 has viewers asking whether McGee could be in line to exit the series sometime soon.
Season 22 of NCIS brings back plenty of cast members with years of experience on the show under their belt, but none with more experience than Sean Murray's Timothy McGee.
Following the late David McCallum's Ducky, who was a regular in NCIS' first 20 seasons, McGee is the next longest-tenured character. He was introduced in Season 1's seventh episode and became a regular in Season 2, now serving as second-in-command for NCIS' Major Crimes Response Team.
Is McGee Leaving NCIS in Season 22?
The Season 22 premiere of NCIS put Sean Murray's NCIS Senior Field Agent Timothy McGee in danger of potentially leaving the series.
The episode starts with the entire field team separated as Gary Cole's Alden Parker finds the bullpen empty. Katrina Law's Jessica Knight is back after an exit scare as fans see her leading REACT training in California while Nick Torres is deep undercover investigating a drug cartel.
Meanwhile, McGee is busy working to secure the position of NCIS Deputy Director position before the team is reunited due to Torres' cover being blown on his assignment. McGee remains in Washington, D.C. to run point on the new mission while Parker meets up with Knight in Los Angeles to help find Torres.
McGee is eventually called into current Deputy Director Leon Vance's office, and he learns that he did not get the job. Not only that, but the job went to Seamus Dever's General Gabriel LaRoche from the Department of Justice, who the team is investigating for potentially being a mole for the cartel within NCIS itself.
What Will Happen With McGee in NCIS Season 22?
While viewers are certainly disappointed that McGee did not get the Deputy Director position after decades of hard work, he does not seem to be going anywhere. The hope is that his resolve to lead NCIS will grow even stronger now that a potentially dangerous man has been picked ahead of him.
McGee has filled in for Director Vance on a couple of occasions on an interim basis, proving that he's fit for any job he wants within the organization.
This move puts NCIS in an interesting position as a series with a villain that could potentially last the entire season. It is rare to see a final big bad make his presence felt as the antagonist this early in a season, much less in a season premiere, setting the show up for plenty of drama to finish off 2024 and start 2025.
With Murray now holding lead billing on the show after Mark Harmon's exit as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, it would be shocking to see him vacate his position anytime soon. Now, the real question is whether his mission to earn a major promotion is over for good or simply on hold while this season continues.
New episodes of NCIS air on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS before streaming the next day on Paramount+.
