Shocking Twist: Abrupt Demise of Major NCIS Character After Just Two Seasons – Prepare to Be Stunned!
The unexpected departure of Kate (Sasha Alexander) from NCIS had a profound impact on the show’s trajectory. Since its 2003 spin-off from JAG, NCIS swiftly rose to prominence as a standout military procedural series. Its success spawned several spin-offs, including NCIS: Los Angeles, New Orleans, Hawai’i, and Sydney. Much credit for this success goes to the charismatic original cast of the show. However, in a surprising turn of events, Kate’s character met an untimely end in the shocking Season 2 finale.
In an illuminating interview with The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson and co-creator Donald P. Bellisario shed light on the decision to write off Kate. Sasha Alexander had expressed a desire to reduce her workload on the series due to the demanding and lengthy hours. It wasn’t necessarily a desire to leave the show but rather a quest for a lighter schedule. In response, Bellisario saw an opportunity to inject heightened drama into the series by proposing the idea of killing off her character, Kate. Here are their quotes:
JOHNSON (executive producer): In the second year, Sasha went to Don and said, “I love this show, but I just can’t work this hard.” We were doing long hours. I don’t think she wanted to leave the show — she just wanted a lighter workload. Bellisario was always a writer who went for the cataclysmic. He went, “Well, what if we kill her off?” Everybody goes, “What?” And he went to her and told her, “Good news — your workload is going to be lighter. But you’re going to die.” (Laughs.) It was the very last minute or two of the show — the shot through the head. That’s always been one of the more shocking things on the internet of endings that you don’t see coming.
BELLISARIO (co-creator): I wanted to do a shocker, so that’s what I did, and people didn’t expect that at all. It came out of nowhere.
Kate’s sudden death marked the beginning of NCIS’s reputation for unexpected character exits, establishing the understanding that characters could depart or meet unforeseen fates at any time, even without prior indications of danger. Sasha Alexander, initially signed on for a six-season run, had initially been set for a long tenure. However, the demanding shooting schedule, often exceeding 10 months with 17-hour workdays, took its toll. Her desire for a lighter workload was entirely understandable. What surprised fans was the decision to kill off her character.
Post-NCIS, Alexander went on to star in Rizzoli & Isles for seven seasons. Meanwhile, the show’s cast and creators leveraged Kate’s death to introduce a sense of vulnerability among the investigators. Instead of providing a sense of safety for each character, her death opened the door to the idea that any of the investigators could be killed at any moment. In retrospect, the decision to write off Kate’s character proved to be a significant turning point for the show.
