The Paramount+ spinoff series NCIS: Tony & Ziva was not long for this world, as it was canceled after a single season on the streaming platform. It has since been announced that Michael Weatherly will return to NCIS this fall, but just because his spinoff didn’t last long doesn’t mean it will be ignored by the mothership series.
At Comic-Con Midlands in Birmingham, United Kingdom, Weatherly reunited with NCIS: Tony & Ziva co-star Cote de Pablo. The pair appeared together during a panel at the convention, which took place on the weekend of July 11 and 12. While speaking at the event, Weatherly shared how he would start filming his season-long arc in NCIS Season 24 on July 14. The actor also teased that the events of the ill-fated spinoff will be acknowledged by NCIS.
The Events of NCIS: Tony & Ziva Will Be Acknowledged
“It’s going to be very interesting to see what is revealed and unfurled, but I can tell you this: There is a definite connection between [Tony & Ziva] and the canon that that created within — there’s not going to be retconning of like, oh, Tony & Ziva never happened,” Weatherly explained.
“God, I wish I could tell you one great thing,” he added. “I just know that it’s going to be an exciting return and sort of back to what Cote was saying, the formula of the original show, with the crime and the investigation and the red herring at the turn of the hour and everyone chasing around and all the interpersonal play. I have really enjoyed watching what the show has done over the last 10 years since I left, but it’s a different show now.”
Weatherly continued, “So, I’m very much about respecting the show I’m coming into and being aware that they’ve built an extraordinarily successful tenure run but, that doesn’t mean that what we did isn’t going to be able to live alongside and inside that show, and if I say any more, I’m going to start saying specific things, so I’m going to be quiet.”
Tony DiNozzo Returns to NCIS This Fall
Specific details about the story that brings Weatherly back as Tony DiNozzo have not been revealed. What’s known is that it will be for a season-long arc, so it’s not going to be limited to a one-off appearance. As of now, there has been no indication that de Pablo will also appear as Ziva David. It’s possible that her return won’t be announced until later, or that it’s being kept a secret, so it will be a surprise to fans when she pops up. There’s also the chance she will not appear at all. In any case, it sounds like the situation with Tony and Ziva will be addressed in NCIS Season 24.
Weatherly’s Tony has been a part of NCIS since the very start, serving as a main character when the show premiered in 2003, while de Pablo’s Ziva joined the series in Season 3. Ziva was written out of the series early into Season 11 in 2013, while Tony stuck around until Season 13 in 2016. At that time, it was stated that Ziva had been killed, and that she also secretly had a daughter fathered by Tony. Several years later, it was revealed that Ziva had faked her death, and the pair reunited on-screen for NCIS: Tony & Ziva.
NCIS Season 24 will debut on CBS this fall, while the first and only season of NCIS: Tony & Ziva is streaming on Paramount+.
