Maria Bello is bowing out of NCIS during its upcoming 18th season.
Deadline is reporting that the beloved cast member will depart in the first half of the season.
Bello will be back as Jacqueline “Jack” Sloane for eight episodes of the forthcoming season, meaning that fans will get closure.
Bello first arrived on the series during NCIS Season 15, and quickly emerged as a favorite with the veteran drama’s fans.
NCIS was one of many series to have its most recent season interrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic.
NCIS Season 17 was forced to conclude with several episodes unproduced. It’s unclear whether Bello was supposed to depart during the missing episodes.
Bello, for her part, appears to be focusing on the world of producing, and is currently working alongside Cathy Schulman, Viola Davis, and Julius Tennon on The Woman King.
She is also set to appear in the David-Oyelowo movie The Water Man.
Bello signed a three-year deal when she first signed up for the series and her character has been part of a will-they-won’t-they relationship with Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon).
Despite the relationship gathering steam, it will be cut short when Jack says goodbye to the series after 73 episodes in the role.
If you watch NCIS online, you know the series has been delving into Jack’s past, revealing she gave up her daughter Faith for adoption after Faith’s father sexually assaulted her.
CBS revealed last month that NCIS would return later this year as part of its business as usual fall schedule.
Production is set to get underway on the new episodes in the coming weeks, so the series will probably return in October or November.
The next season will also feature the milestone 400th episode, which should have been part of NCIS Season 17.
“Episode No. 399 was just two days away from the start of production,” Cardea told TV Line in April.
“All of the prep work was completed, sets were built, the guest cast was set as were locations. No. 400 was set to shoot next, and we will probably still shoot it as 400 and air as 400.”
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.