Which NCIS character was killed off? The show saved it for the 500th episode
CBS spent weeks teasing something big for the NCIS milestone, and most viewers assumed that meant a Mark Harmon cameo or a legacy guest spot. The promos were not being coy for a cameo.
Director Leon Vance, played by Rocky Carroll, was killed in "All Good Things" — season 23, episode 13, which aired March 24, 2026, and served as the series' 500th episode. Carroll had played Vance for 18 seasons and 392 episodes, joining in season 5 in 2008.
What happens in the episode
The agency itself is being shut down, folded into Army CID amid a scandal built on falsified numbers. The scattered team reunites off the books to help the son of a Marine that Gibbs once assisted, and the trail leads to a weapons smuggling ring. A bomb planted to destroy the evidence turns out to be a diversion. The actual threat is CID Agent Dolan Thompson, who has been working alongside Vance the whole time and puts three rounds in his chest.
Vance's evidence holds.
The SECDEF reinstates NCIS. He doesn't live to see it, and the episode closes with him meeting a young Dr. Ducky Mallard — played by Adam Campbell, standing in for David McCallum, who died in 2023 — and his late wife Jackie.
Was it the actor 's decision?
No. Showrunner Steven D. Binder, who wrote the episode, told Carroll in November 2025 that the character was being written out, and Carroll has said publicly he never asked to leave. He filmed his last scenes as a living character on December 11, 2025. Binder's explanation to TV Insider:
"It is never easy to say goodbye to any of our characters," he said, framing the death as Vance giving his life so the agency could survive.
Carroll isn't gone from the production — he continues to direct episodes.
Has NCIS killed a director before?
Twice, and both times by gunfire:
- Thomas Morrow — the first director of the series, later killed after moving on from the agency.
- Jenny Shepard — Vance's immediate predecessor, shot in a diner in the season 5 opener.
- Leon Vance — the third, and the longest-serving of the three.
Add Kate Todd's sniper death in the season 2 finale and the show's willingness to remove regulars is well established. What's new is doing it in the episode built as a celebration.
What happens to the agency now
Vance's exit leaves the top job open, with Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) the most frequently floated internal candidate and Alden Parker (Gary Cole) already serving as second-in-command. CBS had renewed the series before the episode aired, so the shutdown storyline was never going to stick.
For the record: 5.55 million viewers watched "All Good Things," the highest number NCIS pulled for any episode that season.