‘NCIS’ Finally Made a Decision About Timothy McGee

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McGee looks serious in work clothes in NCIS Season 22

Published Jan 31, 2026, 3:00 PM EST

Ryan Cortero was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, the home of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and The Boys. He's passionate about all types of movies and shows, especially reality TV, superhero content, and indie dramas. When he travels, it’s mainly to Disney Parks around the world (Tokyo Disneyland Resort is his favourite). He graduated from Carleton University with a postbaccalaureate in Film Studies. He’s been working in the journalism industry since 2022 as a social media director and writer. Ryan has interviewed talents such as Joe Locke, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Kevin Durand, Owen Teague, and John Paesano.

With more than 400 episodes across one of CBS's best franchises to date, NCIS is one of the longest-running police procedural shows on network television today. The series has seen its share of cast members come and go through the NCIS universe. While none of the original stars are still present in the series, the most-tenured actor on NCIS is Sean Murray, who plays Timothy McGee. But even so, Murray recently acknowledged the swirl of speculation about McGee’s future, teasing that “things can take big, unexpected turns with characters” and that “no one is ever quite safe on this show.” It is the kind of comment that lands differently when it comes from the show’s longest-running cast member.

First introduced in Season 1 as a recurring role, the character quickly became a fan-favorite and settled in as a main character by Season 2. With Mark Harmon's Leroy Jethro Gibbs exiting the show in Season 20, Murray was promoted to the leading star, earning top billing for the opening credits. McGee has grown through the ranks of the federal organization throughout the seasons of NCIS. Starting as a Probationary Field Agent, McGee climbed up to Senior Field Agent by Season 14. Since then, the character has also filled in as NCIS Acting Director in Director Leon Vance's (Rocky Carroll) absence.

This is proof of his importance at NCIS and his ability to lead the organization. Feeling like this might be the best position for him, Season 22 positioned McGee as the natural choice for NCIS Deputy Director. Between the new responsibility he has taken on and the way his leadership role has been folded into the team’s future on Season 23, writing him out now would not feel like a bold twist so much as the show pulling out a key structural beam.

When Does McGee Become NCIS Deputy Director?

The NCIS Season 22 premiere, “Empty Nest,” opens with the team scattered in a way that immediately signals transition. Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) is leading REACT (Regional Enforcement Action Capabilities Team) training in California, Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) is deep undercover investigating a drug cartel, and McGee is occupied with securing the NCIS Deputy Director position. Although they've been apart for the past six months, their paths reconnect as Torres' cover gets blown, and the team tries to solve who leaked it. They're able to discover who's been giving information to the cartel, but the mystery surrounding the NCIS mole is left up in the air.

‘NCIS’ Franchise Faces Another Major Loss

The hit spin-off series will look different going forward.

Their suspicions lead them to Department of Justice Inspector General Gabriel LaRoche (Seamus Dever), who's been secretly investigating NCIS. Before they can discuss this further, McGee is called into Vance's office to learn that not only did he lose out on the Deputy Director position, but the role is going to LaRoche, of all people. With Murray teasing that “no one is ever quite safe,” per People, Season 23 is now actively building a case for why McGee can’t be the next major exit. Losing the Deputy Director job to LaRoche puts him at the center of the show’s biggest power struggle, and it’s hard to imagine that story working without him.

What's Next for 'NCIS' Season 23?

Season 23 has already proven that it is not just letting its biggest threads simmer in the background. Before its March return, its last episode, “Heaven and Nature,” finally delivered closure on the long-running mystery surrounding Parker’s (Gary Cole) mother, tying together the pieces in a way that gives him the kind of relief the show rarely allows its leads to have. That kind of narrative cleanup matters for McGee, too, because it clears the deck for the show’s bigger, agency-level power plays, and he is still positioned closest to the consequences of them. But in classic NCIS fashion, that emotional resolution is immediately paired with a larger shake-up, as the episode also kicks the NCIS: Elite storyline wide open.

With Parker no longer weighed down by unanswered questions about his family, the team is freed up to deal with threats that are bigger than any one case, positioning itself to become the next major pressure point for the squad. For McGee, that escalation is the point. If Season 22 set him up as the steady hand inside the building, Season 23 is now handing him the kind of chaos that tests whether the show actually needs him in that role. NCIS has always been at its best when personal stakes and institutional danger collide, and Season 23 is leaning into that formula hard.

NCIS returns in March with episodes available to stream on Paramount+ now.

Release Date September 23, 2003

Showrunner Donald P. Bellisario

Directors Dennis Smith, Terrence O'Hara, Tony Wharmby, James Whitmore Jr., Thomas J. Wright, Michael Zinberg, Arvin Brown, Rocky Carroll, Diana Valentine, Leslie Libman, Tawnia McKiernan, Colin Bucksey, William Webb, Bethany Rooney, Alrick Riley, Jeff Woolnough, Alan J. Levi, Lionel Coleman, Martha Mitchell, Peter Ellis, Michael Weatherly, Edward Ornelas, Stephen Cragg, Tom Wright

Writers George Schenck, Frank Cardea, Jesse Stern, John C. Kelley, Jennifer Corbett, Christopher Silber, Reed Steiner, Nicole Mirante-Matthews, Jack Bernstein, Scott J. Jarrett, Matthew R. Jarrett, Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Don McGill, Gil Grant, Frank Military, Nell Scovell, Steven Kriozere, Brian Dietzen, Kate Torgovnick May, Jeff Vlaming, Sydney Mitchel, Katie White, Richard C. Arthur, Laurence Walsh