Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly are returning to the “NCIS” franchise, a decade after both stars left the original CBS series. The duo are set to reprise their roles as Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo in a new 10-episode still-untitled “NCIS” series for Paramount+. John McNamara (“Trumbo,” “The Magicians”) serving as showrunner and executive producer.
Slated to start production later this year, the new “NCIS” will reunite de Pablo — who left the original show after Season 11 (2013-2014) — and Weatherly — who left it after Season 13 (2015-2016). The two also will serve as executive producers alongside McNamara, who wrote the premiere episode and will serve as showrunner.
CBS Studios will produce the upcoming spinoff, and Paramount Global Content Distribution will distribute the series. Laurie Lieser, Christina Strain and Shelley Meals will also executive produce the series.
“We’ve been talking about this story for many years, and now, with John McNamara at the helm, we are ready,” Weatherly and de Pablo said in a joint statement. “The world of Tony and Ziva (and daughter Tali) promises to be an action-packed roller coaster fueled by love, danger, tears and laughter. We also want to acknowledge and thank the fans from around the world who supported the ‘TIVA’ movement for years. To this day, they say hello in grocery stores and on the street to tell us how much these characters mean to them and ask what Tony and Ziva are up to now.”
Reads the description of the new show: “After Ziva’s supposed death, Tony left the NCIS team to go raise their daughter. Years later, Ziva was discovered alive, leading her to complete one final mission with NCIS before she was reunited with Tony and their daughter in Paris. Since then – and where we find them in the new Paramount+ original series – Tony and Ziva have been raising their daughter, Tali, together. When Tony’s security company is attacked, they must go on the run across Europe, try to figure out who is after them, and maybe even learn to trust each other again so that they can finally have their unconventional happily ever after.”
According to Paramount+, since the launch of the streamer, the “NCIS” franchise has consistently ranked among the top five franchises on the service in terms of hours watched.
After “NCIS,” Weatherly remained in the CBS family via the series “Bull,” which ended its six-season run in 2022. That show came with some controversy, however: In 2018,it was reportedthat Weatherly had repeatedly made sexual remarks and jokes directed at Eliza Dushku, who appeared in three episodes during Season 1 with plans to make her a series regular for Season 2. She claims that she confronted Weatherly about his behavior, for which he claims he apologized, but she was written off the show shortly thereafter. Dushku ultimately received a $9.5 million settlement from CBS.
