Is there life after NCIS? Pauley Perette, who played tattooed forensic scientist Abby for 15 seasons, is about to find outs. The fact that NCIS, which has been the most-watched scripted drama series on television since 2009, has been on for that long certainly came as a surprise to me.
Pauley was profiled on last week’s CBS Sunday Morning, a/k/a the news show your parents probably watch. She discussed her decision to leave the show, noting that she is “still grieving” about moving on and leaving Abby behind. Pauley admitted “I, like, usually cry in my car every single day when I drive to work. And I usually cry on my way home at some point. And then I take a deep breath, and I go, ‘All right,’ you know?”
Pauley went on to add that, “It makes me sad to imagine a world without Abby in it.” She noted that “Abby made science cool and attainable for young women. And this television character did more than encourage it. It made it cool. It made it exciting. It made it fun.” Pauley has set up a scholarship “in honor of Abby” for young women who are hoping to pursue a career in science, math or forensics. When asked if she thought the scholarship would be a way for Abby to live on forever, she sai, “That’s the way I thought of it, yeah.”
In addition to the scholarship, Pauley has been involved in a number of charities, and even wrote a song, “Beautiful Child,” addressing suicide prevention among LGBT kids. She’s also a pet lover with pooches of her own. She is a big contributor to the Amanda Foundation, a non-profit animal rescue place in Beverly Hills.
As for her future, after her last NCIS episode airs on May 9, it is pretty bright. As she told CBS, “I’m being offered a lot. There’s a lot of conversations going on, yeah. And there’s me sittin’ at home on the couch, drinkin’ beer with my dogs. And I’m really good at it!”
Pauley strikes me as a cool lady, and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of her.
Finished shooting my last scene of NCIS with @SeanHMurray @BrianDietzen @EmilyWickersham @WValderrama Airs May 8th.
LOVE Y’ALL!!! pic.twitter.com/6jfNgIh0Nz— Pauley Perrette (@PauleyP) April 7, 2018
Photos: WENN.com
I suppose after 15 years on a TV show one can afford to leave and just chill with their doggos – I wonder how much she made per season/episode…
Any idea what the salaries are like on long running shows like this, where there are so many ‘central’ characters that many of them are replaceable?
The show is in syndication . Harmon supposedly earns $1/2 million from the series. So I’m sure she’d be rocking near to six figures per episode, plus residuals from syndication. She’ll be fine.
She was earning $175,000 per episode. I think that was a season or two ago. Plus residuals.
I absolutely love NCIS. I’ll miss having my four favorite characters together (Gibbs, Mc Gee; Tony & Abbi)
Going to miss her
That show is just…. bland commando. At times that felt nice, like a trip down memory lane to the 80s, but at other times it was surprising to me that it was still on the air.
And the CBS Sunday Morning Show? That show is awesome!
Seconded. CBS Sunday Morning is really good.
I agree – sometimes it’s on and I will sorta watch it, but I do not get why it is so popular.
Yeah, I hate that show.
The scholarship thing is awsome.
She’s 49 years old… freaking 50 in one year!
She looks amazing!
Wow, I’m jealous!
I loved her interview on the CBS Sunday morning show. I really enjoyed it. There are a lot of great people like her in Hollywood who do so much and give back in many wonderful ways because they’ve been so fortunate. We never really hear about them. She’s one of them.
I feel like the bombs will drop and yet NCIS and Grey’s Anatomy will still be on TV somewhere. 15 years is a long time to play a character so even if you’re ready to move on it’s got to be difficult to give up something that’s been a daily part of your life for so long.
Did she say why she left? I love the old NCIS, before Ziva left. Not a Ziva diehard, thought the show runners did a good job with new/replacement characters, until the one they brought in as her replacement.
She said it was just time, that there are many things she wants to do in the future, but she also wanted some down time after working for so long and feels like she deserves it. She says she’s gotten a lot of offers, but she’s chilling at home right now with her pets (her babies) and loving it. She says she absolutely loves being single and doing what she wants when she wants.
Here’s the Sunday interview, a transcript of it.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pauley-perrette-on-life-beyond-ncis/
I think my in-laws are personally responsible for keeping that show alive. They record every episode, watch them, and then watch them again. When we’re on vacation, they still have to make sure they watch their NCIS.
Lol. The show has a very specific audience. I can remember my mom going crazy when Kate(?) was killed by Ari(?) in the season finale like 100 years ago. I’m surprised it’s still on the air. Mark Harmon was handsome as a young man.
It’s the modern Matlock…hehehe.
Lol! My parents are the same way. They are die hards and it’s appointment TV for them. I still lived at home when this show started so yeah, it’s been around forever and I had to watch way more than I probably would have cared to otherwise.
I did like Abby though and I never in a million years would have guessed she was almost 50! She has fantastic genes.
I love NCIS (even though the post DiNozzo replacements have all stunk), so I’m bummed about this. 15 years is a LONG run though and provides her with alot of financial security. What’s going to be really interesting is if/when Mark Harmon leaves.
Read somewhere that Pauley’s leaving the NCIS family was caused by Mark Harmon’s pit bull’s questionable behavior on set. Who knows???
No one was forcing her to leave, right? I get that you can get bored in a job if you’ve been doing it for 15 years, but for that kind of money ($100,000+/episode), I’d be there till the thing got canceled.
There are rumours that Mark Harmon forced her to leave. He has an aggressive dog and likes to bring it on set. Pauley Perrette is afraid of it, because it attacked a crew member. Rumour is that Mark Harmon basically told the producer that if Pauley Perrette has a problem with the dog she should leave the show.
They have hardly any interactions this seasons, which is odd compared to the beginnings, so I think there might be some truth to the rumours about them not getting along any longer.
weird the showrunners/network would allow the dog on set if it attacked anyone on set as that would be a huge liability and the insurer wouldn’t want the increased risk of a lawsuit (it’s not just Harmon who’d be sued, the producers, production company and network would all be enjoined in a suit)
I thought the same thing. She’s a great person to not bring up exactly why then because some of the fans would be quite angry to find out that she really didn’t have to leave if Harmon hadn’t been a jerk.
I used to love the show before Ziva left, and then quit watching.
“CBS Sunday Morning, a/k/a the news show your parents probably watch”
What’s up with that random slam? The show offers relaxing, no-frills, in-depth segments across a variety of topics. It’s the perfect Sunday morning rise and shine. Stop maligning everyone who still tunes in to network news programs as some geezer. It makes you look narrow-minded.
Someone is feeling old 🙂
I’m 37 and I love that show.
Better worded than mine upthread!
I don’t care for the show, but 15 years is a loooong time to play one character, especially on a procedural type show, and I’m sure she’s looking forward to moving on.