Which Show Doesn’t Feel the Same Without One of Its Leads? (POLL)
October 2021 has been a rough month in terms of major exits from TV dramas. First, Emily VanCamp’s Nic Nevin was written out of The Resident in the October 5 episode. Then on October 11, NCIS fans said goodbye to Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs. And Chicago Fire‘s 200th episode was Jesse Spencer’s last as Matt Casey.
We were able to prepare, somewhat, for these farewells. We knew VanCamp was leaving between seasons. There were rumors of Harmon making limited appearances in Season 19 over the summer. And the writing seemed to be on the wall for Spencer after the 199th episode and the promo for the 200th.
The Resident killed off Nic, with the nurse practitioner, wife, and mother involved in a single-car accident that left her braindead. She was an organ donor, so she was able to continue to save others, even in her death. In the two episodes that have aired since, her husband, Conrad (Matt Czcuchry) — as well as the rest of the hospital staff — has grieved, and the show then jumped forward about three years.
On NCIS, Gibbs had been suspended since Season 18, after beating up a man running a dogfighting ring. Rather than get his badge back, he decided to stay in Alaska in his last episode. “Whatever I’m feeling, this sense of peace, I have not had this since Shannon and Kelly died, and I’m not ready to let it go,” he explained to McGee (Sean Murray). After, it became a question of who will officially take over as team leader, and while some may prefer McGee, he turned down the job. Instead, former FBI agent Alden Parker (Gary Cole) will be in charge.
And on Chicago Fire, Casey reconnected with his late best friend’s kids, who haven’t been doing so well in Oregon. They need a guardian, and while he wanted to bring them back to Chicago, the social worker recommended against it. So, Casey decided to make the move himself, at least until the youngest is 18 (so for three years). The matter of who will take over Truck 81 wasn’t addressed in the only episode to air since.
So readers, we’re asking you to choose the one show that feels the most different in the wake of these exits. Vote in the poll below.
