An NCIS boss has revealed the way Sasha Alexander made her departure as Agent Kate Todd may not have always been set in stone.
Alongside Leroy Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon), Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard (David McCallum) and Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), Kate Todd (Sasha Alexander) played an integral role in NCIS 20 years ago.
Together, they appeared in the CBS drama’s first-ever episode Yankee White with Todd working as part of the presidential protection division assigned on board Air Force One.
Impressed by Todd’s work, Gibbs hired her on the spot after she was fired for following his orders, becoming a key member of the team for the first two seasons.
This was until season two’s episode Twilight when she was unexpectedly shot in the head by double-crossing Mossad Agent Ari Haswari (Rudolf Martin).
It was only revealed in the episode Kill Ari that he targeted Kate merely just to cause Gibbs pain as he reminded him of his dad.
Thankfully, he got his comeuppance in the end when his half-sister and Kate’s later replacement Agent Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) fatally shot him.
To mark the 20th anniversary of the iconic police procedural, some of its creators spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the early days of the drama.
This is when executive producer Mark Horowitz disclosed that the bosses at NCIS did have an alternative scene in mind.
Talking of Todd’s exit, Horowitz explained: “We’ve had a number of circumstances over the years where we’ve had to keep a secret from the audience, and that was the very first one.
“Only one script page of her being shot was ever printed, and they read it in person, and it was returned every time.
“The film was broken off from the rest of the film shot for that day.
“Also, we actually shot an alternate ending. Even my wife didn’t know.
“We were watching the show, and [Caitlin] got shot, and she just jumped out of her chair.”
Since leaving NCIS, actress Alexander has racked up a plethora of onscreen roles.
Some of these have included Mission: Impossible III, Shameless, Rizzoli and Isles, Law and Order SVU and Dangerous Lies.
Most recently, Alexander portrayed Salma in an episode of The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
NCIS is available to watch on CBS and Disney+.
