'NCIS' EP reveals surprising update on Leon Vance's future after devastating exit: 'There's a strong...'
The tragic death of Director Vance during the show's 500th episode shocked 'NCIS' viewers, as many viewers had followed the character for years. Rocky Carroll, who played Leon Vance for 18 years, is among the franchise's longest-serving regular actors, alongside Mark Harmon and Sean Murray. Following his exit, many viewers expected Season 24 to introduce a new permanent director to lead the agency. However, the latest comments from showrunner and executive producer Steven D. Binder hint that things may not be that simple. Binder told TV Insider that the 'NCIS' director wasn't a regular character in earlier seasons, but Carroll's portrayal changed that. "We were going to use a director sporadically and sparingly when we felt like we needed it here and there. And what ended up happening was Rocky was just such a fantastic actor and such a great guy to work with that he just ended up being in the show more and more."
Tom Morrow was the first director of the agency, followed by Jenny Shepard, both of whom made recurring appearances until Vance took over. Since he was such an integral part of the show, fans expected his position to be filled by another series regular. Some fans have speculated McGee could be a natural successor, but the Season 23 finale strongly hinted that LaRoche, played by Seamus Dever, may have ambitions of taking over the role, as he gave Vance’s office a pointed look during his tense interaction with Parker. However, Binder explained that the makers currently have no urgent plans to permanently fill the director’s chair. "So, when Rocky exited the show, we weren’t feeling like, 'My gosh, we need to get a manager back in here. We need to get that supervisor character back in here.' Unless there’s a strong reason to do it, again, we’ve been letting the stories dictate where we go with the director chair."
The last few episodes of Season 23 addressed how the 'NCIS' team was coping with their mentor's death. One episode focused tightly on Wayne Rogers, the man responsible for Vance’s death, while the finale featured his daughter, Kayla. Binder also addressed the direction 'NCIS' Season 23 took post-Vance's death. "We’ve been letting the stories dictate where we go with the director's chair. And other than playing the loss of Vance, and that sort of has given us some things to play about, OK, what’s going to happen now?" he explained. "The idea that we all landed on and gravitated to is we want to address that because we have to, and then we want to get back to telling stories with our core four and Kasie and Jimmy Palmer down in autopsy and telling the best stories we can there. And that usually doesn’t mean involving a supervisor."
The showrunner acknowledged LaRoche's angle, suggesting the writers may continue exploring that storyline, but its longevity depends on viewers' reception. "I think we’re going to play out his story probably once and for all in regards to his designs, and then we’ll see where that lands us." He continued, "I think one of the other secrets to our success is we don’t make these grand decisions upfront and then try and service them because sometimes, and oftentimes, and most of the time, things just want to go a certain way. And if you’ve already decided you’re going to do this, it handcuffs you, and then you can’t go off in interesting and surprising ways." 'NCIS' Season 24 is set to premiere on CBS in Fall 2026.
