Cote de Pablo Announces Departure From NCIS Next Season

Cote de Pablo will be leaving her role as Ziva David on CBS’s popular procedural NCIS next season. De Pablo has been playing Ziva since season 3 of NCIS in 2005, and announced that she will be leaving sometime next season, though the exact date was not revealed.

“I’ve had 8 great years with NCIS and Ziva David," de Pablo said in a statement. "I look forward to finishing Ziva’s story."

“We respect Cote’s decision, thank her for being an important part of the NCIS team, and for eight terrific years playing Ziva David," CBS said in a statement. "Cote and CBS share a great respect for the NCIS audience, and we look forward to working with her and the producers on appropriate closure in this chapter of Ziva’s story."

The news of de Pablo’s exit comes as a surprise to fans that watched her survive a car accident this past season. Speculation arose about her possible departure after the episode aired, due to the fact that de Pablo was reportedly the only series regular who hadn’t signed on for Season 11 when the car accident story line aired in April. Viewers may have been lulled into a false sense of security when Ziva was not killed in the crash.

No word yet on how de Pablo’s impending farewell to the show will affect her character’s will-they-won’t-they relationship with Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly). After the two — affectionately called "Tiva" by fans — shared a moment in the season 10 finale, executive producer Gary Glasberg gave fans hope of a Ziva-Tony romance.

“I think they’re sort of dancing around each other and trying to get a sense of how to move forward and, based on everything that’s happened in the last year, where they are and what the next step is going to be. And, you know, we’re letting it slowly percolate and build and hopefully get it to a place that’s going to be satisfying for everybody,” Glasberg told EW. ‘Tiva’ fans will no doubt be upset that Cote de Pablo is leaving just as Tony and Ziva are inching closer towards a romance.