‘NCIS’ Season 16 Air Date, Spoilers: Why Did Pauley Perrette Quit? Mark Harmon Reportedly the Reason for Exit

“NCIS” season 16 is now filming its third episode as its premiere draws near. The shoot was revealed by the show’s writer, Christopher J. Waild, via social media.

On Aug. 7, Waild updated his Twitter with a photo of himself while on the set. He captioned his post with “Caught working. Day One/Episode 357” and included the hashtag #NCIS.

He did not reveal any other details but it is amazing that in a short time, the cast and production crew already completed two episodes for “NCIS” season 16. If they keep up with this pace, the whole 24 episodes for this installment would surely be finished in no time.

Now, prior to the filming of “NCIS” season 16 first episode, everyone already knows that Pauley Perrette is not coming back to reprise her role as the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's forensic scientist, Abby Sciuto. She left the show in May and it was at this time that CBS also officially confirmed her departure.

“While it’s never easy saying goodbye to a beloved actress and character, we respect her decision to leave at the end of the season," Fox News quoted a CBS executive as saying in a statement. “We are grateful to Pauley for all her contributions to the series and making Abby one of the most unique characters on television.”

Now, she was not fired but she quit. But what could be the reason? There were many speculations and rumors about it and while she already addressed most of the rumors surrounding her exit, it is still not very clear why she decided to leave “NCIS” after 16 years of being part of it.

There were shocking claims that Pauley Perrette suffered from multiple assaults while working on the set, as per Radar Online. But CBS reportedly took the matter seriously and they worked with the actress to find a solution. Then it was said that the 49-year-old actress is actually feuding with the actors and crew of “NCIS,” so these stories came out.

What’s more, it was reported that Pauley Perrette left because of Mark Harmon. Based on a The Wrap report, a dog bite started it all. It was the reason why she and Mark Harmon grew distant and eventually became unable to work together anymore.

Allegedly, the 66-year-old veteran actor brought his pit bull dog on the set and it bit a crew member. The wound was said to be so deep that it required 15 stitches. However, despite what happened, the actor continued to bring his dog to work, which made the crew and stars uncomfortable.

Since Harmon is the show’s lead and also the executive producer, it was reported that no one dared to confront him. It was Perrette who finally said something to the actor and this was how their rift started.

Finally, it has been months since this rumor came out and Pauley Perrette was already replaced by Diona Reasonover (Kasie Hines) in “NCIS” season 16. But both sides (Harmon and Perrette) did not comment or explain if this was what prompted the actress’ departure from the show.

"NCIS" season 16 premieres on Sept. 25 on CBS.