NCIS stars Gary Cole, Katrina Law and Brian Dietzen had a lot to say about the hit CBS show’s upcoming Season 21 finale while speaking with Deadline at the CBS’ Fall Schedule Celebration in Hollywood last night.
There’s panic in the fandom as things seem set up for the possible demise of Cole’s Alton Parker and Law’s Jessica Knight in the May 6 episode titled “Reef Madness.” Written by Scott Williams and directed by José Clemente Hernandez, the season finale follows Parker and Knight as they discover three bodies on an old Navy ship that’s about to be sunk and turned into an artificial reef but end suddenly locked inside by a mysterious figure.
Cole shared some words of encouragement for viewers on the red carpet.
“Nobody told me if I am,” he told Deadline when asked if he was leaving the show. “You’ll have to watch to find out but, no.”
Law gave a little more insight as to how things will play out.
“I have to say, this is one of my favorite NCIS scripts. It is so well written,” she said. “I’m hoping that in the execution we brought it justice and that the audience is going to love it. I got to do a lot of scene work with Gary Cole, who is an amazing human being and an even more amazing actor. He knocked it out of the park. There were times in these scenes when I was watching him act and I was devastated watching him because he was that brilliant.”
She also warned fans will also feel the devastation during these “life and death situations.” In a video preview, what looks like a tall, heavy pipe falls on Parker leaving Knight in a panic. In another, Knight is underwater and appears to be drowning.
“Some big fundamental changes are about to happen,” she teased.
Dietzen suggests fans should be worried about more characters beyond Parker and Knight as the airing gets close.
“They shouldn’t just be worried about Gary Cole, they should worry about a lot of characters. No character is safe, that’s what NCIS stands for, I think,” he joked. “I’ll tell you this, Gary Cole and Katrina Law knock it out of the park in this episode. There are a lot of things that are going to be happening, not just the danger that our characters are put through, but also dynamics that are going to be shifting. Potentially even between Jimmy and Jess, this couple that has been fantastic for the last two years. I have to say, it’s my favorite finale script that we’ve had in years. It’s so good.”