#Why did Renee Felice Smith, Barrett Foa leave NCIS: Los Angeles?

If you’ve watched tonight’s new episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, then you know the bad news that Barrett Floa and Renee Felice Smith are leaving. It’s a tough pill to swallow! These two have been a part of the show since early on in its run, and they have each contributed to making it precisely what it is.

Yet, in the end, there were clues these exits were coming for a while now. Both actors have been absent for stretches over the past couple of seasons, with the idea being that they were doing other things. As it turns out, this ties very-much into their exits, which seem to be actor-driven more than anything else. In a statement to TVLine, here is what showrunner R. Scott Gemmill had to say:

“Both Renée and Barrett have been on the show a long time, and they’re both very ambitious individuals who have projects that they want to do on their own — and we’ve been giving them time off to do so … It seemed like a natural time to let them go off and do some other things, and give [their characters] what is a happy, hopefully, ending.”

Is there door still open for a return down the road? Absolutely. You can’t rule anything out and it does seem like Foa and Smith are both leaving on good terms.