The NCIS franchise’s 1000th episode arrived in NCIS season 21, episode 7, and the hour began with a shocking event that has many worried about the status of Leon Vance, played by Rocky Carroll, in the television show. The CBS military police procedural series, created by Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill, premiered in September 2003 as a spin-off of Jag and served as the first installment in the NCIS franchise. Following its continued success, CBS ordered numerous NCIS spin-offs — NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Hawai’i, and NCIS: Sydney, and a couple more on the way.
CBS celebrated NCIS’s 1000th episode with big returns, surprises, and reveals, but perhaps the hour’s most shocking moment came at the beginning when Director Vance was shot. Vance was visiting his wife’s grave on her birthday when he ran into his son Jared (with whom he has a complicated relationship), and during their tense conversation, the NCIS director was shot in the back by a long-range sniper. He was rushed to the hospital and ultimately survived, but Vance’s brush with death undoubtedly made viewers worried about his future in the long-running procedural series.
Rocky Carroll’s Vance Is Not Confirmed To Be Leaving NCIS
Neither Rocky Carroll nor CBS has revealed that the actor has any intention of leaving NCIS and saying goodbye to Director Leon Vance, who has been a part of the show since season 5. So, for all intents and purposes, Carroll is seemingly returning for NCIS season 22 (which was greenlit by the network less than a week before the 1000th episode was released). It’s going to take much more than a sniper to take Director Vance permanently out of commission in the procedural series.
Leon Vance’s near-death experience brought him closer to Jared during NCIS ‘s 1000th episode, so future episodes will likely further explore the father-son relationship.
The uncertainty regarding Director Vance’s future in NCIS is understandable, given the circumstances of season 21, episode 7, “A Thousand Yards.” While he survived his gunshot wound, Carroll’s character will be out of action for an unspecified amount of time during his recovery (and hopefully while spending more time with his son). Meanwhile, fans should probably be more worried about Sean Murray’s uncertain NCIS future, whose character, Timothy McGee, was named the interim NCIS Director by Vance.
What Vance Being Shot Means For NCIS’ Future
Leon Vance’s near-death experience brought him closer to Jared during NCIS’s 1000th episode, so future episodes will likely further explore the father-son relationship. As for the NCIS Director’s recovery time, Rocky Carroll told TV Insider, “I don’t spend the rest of the season in a hospital bed.” The actor also teased that Vance would be back in the office by the finale, revealing, “He’s walking wounded, but he’s back.” So, only time will tell what the capacity of Director Vance’s role is in the remaining episodes of NCIS season 21, but he does have a part in the last stretch.
