Michael Weatherly Bids Hilarious, Heartfelt Farewell to NCIS

CBS viewers will not be without Michael Weatherly for very long.

Yes, the actor departed his role of Tony on NCIS Season 13 Episode 24, as the Special Agent learned that Ziva was dead and that he was a father and felt an understandable need to step away.

But Weatherly will star on the new drama Bull this fall… which just so happens to also be scheduled for Tuesday nights on CBS.

Still, after 13 years as Tony, Weatherly felt a need to thank fans personally for their passion and dedication, recording a hilarious video with the network in order to get his points across.

"I have experienced great joy, great sadness, great dislocation, confusion, anger and sometimes hunger on the set of NCIS," Weatherly says in the video below.

"But the one thing I"ve never felt was bored or that there was nobody watching because you have made this show the number one show in the world."

Mixing humor with true sentiment, the actor added:

“I want to say that wherever I go, whatever men’s room or restaurant or airport I find myself in, you’re there, too… you’re with me.

“Sometimes it’s appropriate, sometimes it’s not appropriate at all, but I always love it because I am the number one fan of NCIS. I know you guys share that, but I just want you to know that I have priority because I got there first.

"So I don’t want to get competitive about it, and I appreciate that you’re also fans, but I’m the first fan."

Along with this video, Weatherly shared a series of Tweets reaffirming his love for the NCIS fandom.

He also shared pictures from a special finale-night reunion with former on-screen love Cote de Pablo, who played Ziva and who left the show a couple years ago.

Watch Weatherly"s full message to fans below:

Michael Weatherly Exits NCIS: How Did Tony Say Goodbye?

Special Agent Tony DiNozzo has left the building.

Going into NCIS Season 13 Episode 24, fans of television’s highest-rated series know that Michael Weatherly would be saying goodbye.

They just had no idea how Tony would be written out.

No way he’d be killed off, right?

Right. But that doesn’t mean death didn’t play a key role on the NCIS Season 13 finale.

The major event that led to Tony’s departure was the discovery that Ziva was killed in a bombing at her farmhouse in Israel.

“Life rarely ends the way we imagine,” Ducky said as the rest of the NCIS team mourned their former colleague back at the office.

From there, though, Tony was in for another surprise: Ziva had a daughter named Tali, who was hand-delivered to the U.S. by Israel officials. Because Tony is her father.

With advice from his father in hand (Robert Wagner reprised the role and told his son to take some time for an emotional breather), Tony told Gibbs that he had to resign his post.

“I’m everything to that little girl now,” DiNozzo his boss. “And I’ve never been anybody’s everything before.”

Watch NCIS Season 13 Episode 24 Online

This led to a number of emotional goodbyes with his colleagues, from McGree to Bishop to Abby, the latter of whom told Tony:

“I know how much Ziva really loved you. I know. She told me.”

Then there was the big farewell. It took place in Gibbs’ basement.

“That’s it,” Tony said. “I’m done now.”

To which Gibbs replied: “You gotta do whatcha gotta do.”

A rare hug followed… and it just happened to get very dusty in our living room around this same time. 

What did you think of Tony’s goodbye? What it everything you could have hoped for? Can you believe Ziva is dead?!?

Go ahead and watch NCIS online via the above video if you need to catch up and then sound off. What an emotional hour of television!

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