‘NCIS’ Star Michael Weatherly Reveals Why DiNozzo Has To Move On In The Season 13 Finale

Tony DiNozzo will say farewell to “NCIS” Tuesday night in the Season 13 finale of the hit CBS series. Actor Michael Weatherly will be exiting the show and he feels not only that it was his time to leave the series, but he also believes the clock has struck midnight for his character too.

In an interview with Variety, Weatherly said what got difficult for him on the show was that “it seemed like the character had to go.” He also joked McGee (Sean Murray) probably wants DiNozzo to leave.

“You can’t be in that No. 2 slot forever. That started to become a constraint to me and that ended up being some of the tension DiNozzo was having on the team,” Weatherly dished. “McGee is looking at him going, ‘Will you get out of here, I wanna be No. 2!’ ”

Weatherly teased “NCIS” fans might need to call out of work on Wednesday because viewers may have “flu-like symptoms” after watching his final episode. After leaving the show, Weatherly said he’s going to spend time with his family. He was part of the series for 13 years and over 300 episodes.

Tuesday night’s episode is expected to be an emotional one after all of the time Weatherly was a part of the show. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Gary Glasberg said each character will have their moment to say goodbye to DiNozzo.

“People should prepare for some real emotion and a bit of a roller-coaster ride. There’s fun and action, but the last act — the last 15 minutes — are really touching,” Glasberg said.

Episode 24 of Season 13 will have the NCIS team working alongside the FBI and MI6 to take on an escaped British spy. According to the synopsis, the spy is going to target both “current and former” agents. Robert Wagner will also guest-star as DiNozzo’s father, Anthony DiNozzo Sr.

Michael Weatherly’s last episode of “NCIS” airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. EDT on CBS.