Though the NCIS franchise shrank a bit with the surprise cancellation of Vanessa Lachey’s Hawai’i spinoff, it’ll be expanding overall with the upcoming additions of the prequel spinoff NCIS: Origins and the follow-up centering on MIchael Weatherly’s Tony DiNozzo and Cote de Pablo’s Ziva David. The former and future co-stars revealed the new show’s title with a cute video ahead of production kicking off, but is there a chance fans will see them together before the premiere?
That all depends on decisions made by higher-up execs, as it goes with just about all TV show details, but if NCIS’ showrunner gets to make the call, it sounds like a broadcast network return for the Tiva duo could indeed be in the cards, especially since Weatherly already appeared to confirm Ziva’s impending return. Speaking with TVLine, Steven D. Binder shared the following hopeful take:
Let’s put it this way: I would love to do that, and I have a feeling Michael [Weatherly] would be up for anything like that. I’m open to any ideas anybody has. They are totally welcome to throw them at me.
Obviously Binder & Co. would want to welcome Tony and Ziva to the family by having the titular characters reunite on the flagship drama later in the 2024 TV schedule. It only makes sense, considering that’s where fans first fell in love with the agents. But there’s a big difference between the desire to and that desire actually becoming a reality.
Still, I imagine few people involved with the situation have more positive influence in the matter than Binder, who’s held his executive producer duties for years now. And one would think the decision needs to be made fairly quickly, since NCIS: Tony And Ziva is set to kick off production in Budapest this summer, and I’d imagine it would be far easier to film something for the mothership drama before the spinoff gets into high gear.
Even if NCIS proper wouldn’t be filming its own eps yet, it wouldn’t require more than a one-room appearance to develop some current connective tissue between the two shows. Granted, fans would no doubt rather have a full-blown backdoor pilot-esque situation where the two get a lengthy on-screen reunion (even if the characters technically wouldn’t be reuniting) before engaging with every other long-term character in the series. One can certainly dream.
As it often goes with entertainment ideals, Weatherly and de Pablo’s chances of showing up on CBS’ NCIS probably comes down to timing and scheduling as much as anything, and whether or not there’s a window where all parties involved can meet up and make the magic happen. But next-to-worst-case senario, NCIS viewers will get to see McGee or Vance getting a video call from Tony and/or Ziva at some point early on in Season 22. Give us something!
It’s not yet known when NCIS: Tony and Ziva will be available to stream via Paramount+ subscription, but that’s the very spot where all prior scenes of shows in the NCIS franchise can be found, among many of CBS’ long-running crime dramas.