‘NCIS’ Pays Subtle Tribute to Rocky Carroll in Latest Episode

By Jessy Anna On Apr 29, 2026

“Her” – On her first NCIS: Elite mission, Knight is given orders to hunt down and arrest Eleanor Bishop after the former member of the NCIS team is designated a wanted cyber-terrorist. In need of someone to trust, Bishop turns to Torres, and the two come face to face for the first time since she abruptly left nearly five years ago, on the CBS Original series NCIS, Tuesday, March 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ Premium plan subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*. Emily Wickersham returns as Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop in an episode directed by series star Rocky Carroll. Pictured: Rocky Carroll as NCIS Director Leon Vance Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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It’s been a month since the actor left the CBS drama—but his presence is still felt.

NCIS regularly drops bombshells on its viewers—but one scenario that left fans heartbroken in season 23 was the shocking death of Director Vance (Rocky Carroll).

As viewers tuned into the April 21 episode, titled “Reboot,” they saw Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) return to assist at the Navy Yard, helping Alden Parker (Gary Cole) and Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) solve one of their many cases. At the same time, Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover) tries to update the organization’s multi-threat alert center (a.k.a. the MTAC), but it’s not going smoothly. This leads Sam to reference something Vance told him about fixing these kinds of things—and then Parker acknowledges the real issue plaguing the team.

CBS Photo Archive//Getty Images
Rocky Carroll as Director Leon Vance on *NCIS*.

“I don’t know,” Parker admits to Sam when he asks how the NCIS is holding up after Vance’s death, according to TV Insider. “Doesn’t seem real, a lot of us are still in denial.”

“Tell you what, we replace old MTAC with new MTAC, but people, like Vance… no replacing that,” Sam responded.

Vance’s death occurred as he diffused a bomb in the NCIS’ parking garage while the group was trying to solve a case involving a weapons-smuggling operation. Despite it being a few weeks since the incident, it’s clear Vance’s presence will be felt for a while.

Rocky himself returned to NCIS to direct the April 14 episode. So, it looks like Vance hasn’t left the building just yet…

Here’s to hoping we’ll get more references to Vance as time goes on!