Sean Murray Addresses Rumors He Is Leaving ‘NCIS’ After Season 16

That was a close call. Prior to this week’s episode of NCIS, fans were seriously worried that Sean Murray’s McGee would accept another job offer and leave the team for sunny California. Luckily, we learned that McGee was never interested in the job at Splendifida and visited the Silicon Valley campus on orders from Gibbs (Mark Harmon).

Now that the job offer is off the table, fans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing the Murray isn’t going anywhere after Season 16. In fact, the actor recently talked about his future on the show and revealed that he plans to stick around as long as possible.

Murray dishes on ‘NCIS’ future

According to TV Insider, Murray revealed that he is still under contract with CBS and has no plans to leave the popular crime drama. Murray’s comments came before last week’s episode, which confirmed that McGee is not moving to California.

“I’m under contract right now, so I have no plans to leave the show,” Murray shared. “”I don’t think McGee’s going anywhere.”

On the latest episode of NCIS, McGee visited the tech firm in Silicon Valley under the guise of seeing if the company was a good fit for him and his family. But the real reason McGee left Washington D.C. was to gain access to Splendifida’s servers.

Gibbs, Clark (Scott William Winters), and Vance (Rocky Carroll) sent McGee to search for information related to a mysterious government bank account, which he tracked back to Wynn Crawford (Mitch Pileggi), the U.S. Secretary of Defense. Somewhere along the way, the investigation was compromised, and Clark was found dead in his home.

We don’t know who caught wind of the case, but the episode’s second part should shed more light what happened.

CBS renews ‘NCIS’ for Season 17

Last month, CBS officially renewed NCIS for one more season. The president of the network, Kelly Kahl, released a statement praising the series for its continued success the past two decades. Kahl also gave a shout out to Harmon for being such an integral part of the series over the years.

After 16 seasons on the air, CBS is still the most popular drama in all of television. With ratings going strong, renewing the show was a no-brainer for the network. Despite facing his own exit rumors, Harmon reportedly signed a contract extension that will keep him on the series for at least one more run. Murray is also expected to return in Season 17, though whatever happens beyond that is yet to be seen.

Murray opens up about working with Harmon

Kahl wasn’t the only one singing Harmon’s praises. In a recent interview, Murray talked about starring alongside Harmon and had nothing but nice things to say about him. Murray admitted that the series would not be as popular without Harmon at the helm and called his co-star a “very special individual.”

Murray has been playing the part of McGee since the very first season and was promoted to a series regular in Season 2. He has worked closely with Harmon ever since and the two share a close bond outside of the show.

While their friendship blossomed on NCIS, Murray met Harmon on the set of Harts of the West. At the time, Murray was only 15 years old. The show, which was originally slated to star Jeff Bridges, was short lived, but Murray’s interactions with the hard-working Harmon left a lasting impression on hm.

Who else will be back in Season 17?

Based on their contract situations and comments, it is safe to say that Harmon and Murray will be back for Season 17. That is, barring something catastrophic happens to their characters in the final episodes of Season 16.

As far as the rest of the cast is concerned, we still don’t know which characters will return next season, but there is good reason believe that most of them will return for another run. This includes Emily Wickersham and Wilmer Valderrama, who recently shared a video on social media thanking fans for their continued support.

CBS has not announced when the new season of NCIS will officially premiere, but the show is expected to return sometime next year.

New episodes of NCIS air Tuesday nights on CBS.