Showrunner Reveals Major Vance Character Changes

NCIS showrunner Steven D. Binder has revealed how season 23 will change Director Vance as a character. The long-running CBS show is considered one of the greatest procedurals of all time, and, with NCIS season 22 concluding in May 2025, season 23 is due to premiere October 14, and could see a big change to one key character.

While NCIS season 22 wasted its best villain in years, the finale still brought with it plenty of twists, culminating in Alden Parker discovering the death of his father, at the hands of mob boss Carla Marino. This looks to set up an emotional Parker arc in season 23, but changes to Vance’s character could come into conflict with this.

In an interview with TV Insider, Binder describes how the typically relaxed director is set to have a more by-the-book approach this season, for a mysterious reason. He discussed how the changes are set to try to hasten the conclusion of the storyline, and teased some explosive moments. Check out his comments below:

We’ve often played Director Vance telling his team they need to get back in the box, then he goes, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, and leaves the file on his desk while he leaves the office so they can look through something they need to. That’s not the case this time.

There are “mysterious reasons” for why he’s going back to being “very by the book.”

We feel like this storyline is nearing its conclusion, and we are going to hasten that. At various points, they’re all going to have their explosive moments.

What This Means For NCIS Season 23

Katrina Law as Jessica Knight and Gary Cole as Alden Parker in NCIS

NCIS is a show that always works best when it focuses on character conflicts, and Binder’s comments suggest this Vance change is going to bring plenty of friction with it. He and Parker will almost certainly clash, as Parker will want to go off-book in order to take his revenge on Marino, and Vance may be standing in the way of this.

Director Leon Vance actor Rocky Carroll has played the role since NCIS season 5.

It is interesting that he teases a mysterious reason behind Vance’s sudden change in approach, and there is a good chance that this could be a long-running plot point throughout NCIS season 23. There could be a number of reasons behind this, and the long-reach of Nexus might be impacting Vance, either directly or indirectly.

Our Take On How Vance’s Changes Will Impact NCIS Season 23

Leon Vance addresses Parker and LaRoche off camera in NCIS

The changes to the character of Vance could have wide-ranging repercussions for the season as a whole, and may run him into conflict with the rest of the team. It will certainly make their lives more difficult, and might encourage a bit of behind-the-scenes work that’s kept under the radar, which, of course, presents further issues.

It will also be interesting to gauge how last season’s double agent LaRoche fits into all this, whether he will help the team behind Vance’s back, or whether he and Vance are very much married to the same philosophy. As more details emerge surrounding Vance’s change of approach, this is bound to bring more drama to the NCIS team.