Emily Wickersham is returning to the NCIS universe as Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop, joining the third season of CBS’s “NCIS: Origins” for multiple episodes, Deadline reported. Her first appearance comes Tuesday, Oct. 27, in the fourth episode, “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.” It marks the first time Bishop has appeared in the prequel series.
Wickersham played Bishop for eight seasons on the flagship “NCIS” before leaving in 2021. The character’s exit was explained as a move into undercover work. She came back to the parent show this year for a two-episode arc in Season 23, which ended March 3. She has no long-term commitment to any “NCIS” series, according to MovieWeb, though two returns in a single year suggest the door stays open.
The casting extends a run of reunions built around Mark Harmon, who plays an older Leroy Jethro Gibbs in a present-day timeline woven through the season. Michael Weatherly appeared as Tony DiNozzo in the Oct. 20 episode. His visit was a one-time appearance. Wickersham follows him, and her role is larger.
The story ties the two returns together. After the shooting that opened the season, DiNozzo asks Bishop to help Gibbs, who is working off the books and has asked for no assistance. A sneak peek CBS released shows Bishop ignoring that request and arriving anyway. She tells Gibbs her entire life already operates off the books, then reacts warmly when he tells her to gear up. The setup solves a practical problem. Bishop joined “NCIS” long after the era “Origins” depicts, so the present-day storyline is the only place she can plausibly appear. Harmon’s return as a veteran Gibbs makes that possible.
Wickersham has described going back to the franchise as comfortable. She told TV Insider this year that “NCIS” feels like “such a familiar place” for her, and that the invitation to return excited her. The pairing also revives a partnership that last shared the screen in the Season 18 finale in 2021. CBS has not said how many episodes Wickersham will appear in or how long Bishop stays with Gibbs.
