Sean Murray has been part of NCIS almost since the beginning, having debuted as Timothy McGee in the Season 1 episode “Sub Rosa.” By Season 2, the actor was promoted for recurring player to main cast member, and more than two decades later, he’s the show’s longest-running series regular, surpassing former costars Mark Harmon and the late David McCallum. Murray and NCIS practically go hand in hand at this point, but as we get closer to Season 23 resuming on the 2026 TV schedule, I’m once again concerned that groundwork is being laid for his exit.
We’re still a month out from NCIS Season 23 picking back up following that bombshell Ellie Bishop twist in the midseason finale, with this latter half including the show’s milestone 500th episode airing on March 24. The week before that happens though, TV journalist Matt Mitovich shared in the latest edition of Matt’s Inside Line that NCIS will deliver a McGee-focused episode. This March 17 episode sees the routine case the main characters are investigating turn “unexpectedly personal” when they discover “a hidden chapter from his past that could rewrite his entire life.”
Now, this information alone wouldn’t warrant speculation that Sean Murray is leaving NCIS. Timothy McGee has had plenty of episodes over the years focused on him, including last November’s “Page-Turner,” when he hallucinated his teammates as the characters in his Deep Six books. However, it’s the increased references to McGee’s side gig as author Thom E. Gemcity that have had me wondering if NCIS intends to transition out of the law enforcement agency to make writing his full time career, as the agency is in the midst of budget cuts.
I might be reading too much into this, but the use of “chapter” and “rewrite” in Matt Mitovich’s report immediately made me think of the Deep Six books again. McGee’s literary alter-ego stretches back to NCIS Season 4, but it’s been brought up more throughout Season 23. Additionally, McGee was up for a promotion to Deputy Director in Season 22, but he lost out on that job to Gabriel LaRoche. While we eventually learned the reason why LaRoche was set up at NCIS, there’s been no mention of McGee trying to land that job again. He seems content to continue working as a field agent alongside Alden Parker, Nick Torres and Jessica Knight.
It’s entirely possible that this secret that will be revealed in the March 17 NCIS episode has nothing to do with Thom E. Gemcity and Deep Six, but I still can’t help feeling like the popular CBS show is setting up Sean Murray’s departure. Few actors are able to play a TV character for 20+ years, so I wouldn’t fault Murray for wanting to end this chapter of his career to try something different. Maybe whatever happens in this episode will pave the way for that happening… or maybe this is just my paranoia talking.
Whatever happens with Timothy McGee for the rest of NCIS Season 23, fans of the series can at least take comfort knowing that not only will new episodes return on March 3, but that the procedural has been renewed for a 24th season. Hopefully we’ll continue to see McGee in the 2026-2027 TV season, but for now, my concerns aren’t going away.
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