Diona Reasonover’s task was a tough one. She replaced NCIS fan favorite and original cast member, Pauley Perrette.
This was back in season 16. Reasonover had played the recurring character, Kasie Hines. But NCIS made her a full-time cast member in 2018. She’d been a grad student, learning from Dr. “Ducky” Mallard. But she received the full-time promotion to forensics specialist, with Ducky introducing her to the team.
And Reasonover said Perrette, who played Abby, was very helpful as the show made the transition from Abby to Kasie. Perrette helped Reasonover rid herself of some anxiety.
“Pauley sat me down on my first day and told me, ‘Just be yourself,’ Reasonover told TVLine in a 2018 interview. “And that was really helpful because that’s the only person I can be. I’m bringing as much truth to this as I can.”
Reasonover learned that she got an audition for Kasie two days after she had knee surgery. She was on crutches and taking prescription painkillers. So she rescheduled her audition. Eventually, Reasonover earned the role.
Abby on NCIS Was One of Most Popular Characters on CBS
This is why replacing Perrette on NCIS was so difficult.
Perrette played one of the most popular characters on CBS. As Abby, she was a peppy Goth interested in the supernatural. Yet she also was an expert on ballistics, DNA and digital forensics, which made her vital to NCIS work. With her personality and style of dress, Abby defined quirky.
Perrette announced she was leaving the show at the end of season 15. NCIS said good bye in a double episode — “One Step Forward” and “Two Steps Back.” A hitman had been hired to kill Abby. An MI6 agent, tasked with protecting her, was killed. Abby was severely wounded in the attack. Abby recovered and solved the crime. But she decided to leave NCIS and move to England to start a non-profit for the homeless. She did this to honor the memory of the MI6 agent who died protecting her.
There really was no way to replace Abby. And with Kacie Hines, NCIS decided to allow her to carve out her own personality. Kacie, unlike Abby, doesn’t dress in black.
“If you go and look in the wardrobe department, you’ll see Pauley’s wardrobe is black and lace and really beautiful,” Reasonover told TVLine. “I’ve got colors and patterns. The costume department is wonderful and has let me have a say in some things. Like, I’m not so into ruffles, things like that.”
So far, Reasonover said NCIS fans have welcomed her.
“I didn’t want to feel like a replacement,” Reasonover said. “But I have fans coming up to me and they’ll say, ‘I wasn’t sure how I was gonna feel about you — but I like you.’”
