CBS CEO Les Moonves is speaking out following the public’s outrage from Cote de Pablo’s decision to leave the hit drama series, NCIS.
“We offered Cote de Pablo a lot of money. And then we offered her even more money," Moonves explained at the TV critics press tour as quoted by Mercury News. "We really didn't want to lose her. We love her. We think she's terrific."
"We obviously were in discussions," he added. ". ... Ultimately, she decided she didn't want to do the show. It purely was her decision. We don't like losing anybody. We did everything humanly possible. We exhausted every possibility."
Pablo played agent Ziva David from 2005-2013. She announced her decision to not return to the season 11 in June after her contract expired last season, TV Line reports.
“I’ve had eight great years with NCIS and Ziva David,” Pablor explained at the time. “I have huge respect and affection for Mark [Harmon], Gary [Glasberg], Michael [Weatherly], David [McCallum], Rocky [Carroll], Pauley [Perrette], Brian [Dietzen], Sean [Murray], all of the team and CBS. I look forward to finishing Ziva’s story.”
NCIS returns September 24.
Image: CBS