There’s a lot to look forward to if you’re a fan of NCIS — and not just the series’ milestone 500th episode (airing March 24), though that is promising to be one you don’t want to miss.
“People are going to absolutely lose their minds,” Brian Dietzen tells TV Insider while discussing the new podcast, NCIS: Partners & Probies, that he and Diona Reasonover host. “Everybody I talked to at the network said it’s probably one of the most affecting and emotional episodes we’ve ever done.”
Also coming up in the back half of the season are two episodes — the 17th and 18th — it sounds like you won’t want to miss, especially if you’re fans of Dr. Jimmy Palmer (Dietzen) and Kasie Hines (Reasonover).
“They’re pretty special,” says Dietzen. “One of the episodes does focus a lot on where Jimmy’s at in his personal life and where he’s giving himself new challenges. And then the next episode focuses quite a bit on Diona, Kasie’s character. But some really wonderful things.”
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He’s also read the script for the penultimate episode of Season 23 and calls it “incredible.” In general, the second half of the season is “one banger after another.”
And we already know that the series will be back for more: NCIS was renewed for Season 24 in January. But even though the series keeps going strong and shows no signs of slowing down, Dietzen, who has been on it since Season 1, knows he can’t take it for granted.
“You don’t [know it will keep going] because I’ll never forget, David McCallum once told me, ‘An entire hit television show can be taken down by four bad episodes,’ and he was speaking from experience,” he shares. “He was on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. He said, ‘We had four bad shows in a row and it was over.’ And so I kind of feel that way about our show. And I’m like, ‘OK, it’s our job to keep that bar up there and really never take anything for granted, never take tomorrow for granted.’ So we just got to keep working hard. And I think we’ve got a great group of people to do it.”
What are you hoping to see in the rest of Season 23? Let us know in the comments section below.