NCIS star Makes Emotional Comeback – and Shares Heartfelt Message with Fans

NCIS fans are thrilled as Emily Wickersham reprises her role as Ellie Bishop in the show’s 23rd season. Bishop returned in Season 23, Episode 9 (“Heaven and Nature”), which aired on December 16, prompting an outpouring of excitement on Wickersham’s October 2025 Instagram post.

Fans shared messages like, “I’ve never been so excited! You’re perfect for Bishop!” and “Girl, the scream I let out when I saw you on NCIS again!” Many expressed how much they had missed her character.

Wickersham highlighted these comments in her December 18 Instagram Story and thanked her fans for their support, writing, “All these comments are so sweet!”

NCIS executive producer Steven D. Binder told TV Insider that the producers had “wanted her back” and that her return would bring new twists to the show. Binder teased a reunion with Nick Torres, played by Wilmer Valderrama, and hinted that Bishop has changed since her exit in Season 18. “The world has beaten her up, and maybe a little too much…friends are enemies, enemies are friends in the world she’s in,” Binder said, suggesting complex dynamics and unresolved tensions with former allies.

Wickersham previously spoke about leaving NCIS in an August 2024 interview on the Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch podcast. She said she felt ready to move on and focus on her family after finding out she was pregnant shortly after her departure. She now has two children with her husband, James Badge Dale: Cassius, 3, and Zephyr, 1. Wickersham explained that life on NCIS was all-encompassing and stepping away gave her the chance to adjust to parenthood.

Despite her absence from the show, Wickersham said fans often recognize her for her role. “All of a sudden, I’m on the subway, and they’re like, ‘Did you play Ellie Bishop on NCIS?’” she shared. Her return in Season 23 has clearly delighted longtime viewers eager to see the character back in action.