NCIS: Tony & Ziva stars Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo ponder a return to D.C. and address a potential Gibbs cameo. The first couple-centric spinoff of the long-running NCIS franchise has a decidedly globe-trotting feel, as the Paramount+ crime drama focuses on Ziva (de Pablo) needing to complete one final mission before reuniting with her family in Paris.
Her plans to return to Tony (Weatherly) and their daughter, Tali (Isla Gie), get derailed when the couple has to go on the run across Europe. The first installment of the Paramount+ original series is coming to a close on October 23, with some viewers wondering whether the series will visit old stomping grounds and bring in familiar faces for a potential NCIS: Tony & Ziva season 2.
In an interview with ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley at New York Comic Con, Weatherly and de Pablo directly addressed the possibility of a cameo from Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The two actors, who also produce the spinoff alongside showrunner John McNamara, responded differently and teased that the second season could go to a different location:
You never know. Right now, obviously the show’s taking place in Europe, because the characters are living, and they’ve made a life, in Europe, but I have no idea where the story may take them. We’ve joked around, we could be in Asia. We could be exploring different continents, even. But if the story took us to Washington, why not?
Weatherly responded more playfully, underlining that Gibbs has his fans. But he goes on to say that he would love an appearance by Harmon, if the show were renewed:
So here’s the deal with Mr. Gibbs. He has his little giblets out there. He has all of his little his gravy train fans, and they’re out there. Yes, they wear little silver hats, because he has the silver hair, and they’re his fan club. Mark Harmon would be my No. 1 favorite thing if we could do season 2, and Mark Harmon just [does] a fly-by head slap. I’m in for a penny, in for a pound.
Weatherly also addressed Ducky’s name not being on the wedding guest list, calling it an “error”, and reflected on his time with the late David McCallum:
I would say that [Ducky not being on the wedding guest list] was an error by the writers of that episode, and I would blame them. I’m like, “Do I come up with a funny answer? No, blame the writers.” It could be that it was an incomplete list. I don’t know, but Ana, now you’re making me kind of crazy. I’m gonna have to go look for it. Incomplete list would be the generous one, but you know what, we’re gonna get to the bottom of it. And when they digitally go back in and fix the things that I’ve requested them to fix, like some of the lines on my neck and stuff. Did you hear about them removing the guns from the James Bond posters on Amazon? And now they’re different. So, maybe they’ll go in and put Ducky’s name on the guest list. AI will get in there and do it. God, I love David McCallum. It’s the only autograph that I have in my office, is David McCallum’s signature. He gave it to me, and I treasure it still.
Even though Harmon hasn’t appeared in the spinoff yet, he is still very much a part of the journey for the fan-favorite couple known as Tiva. There are both overt nods and subtle references to Gibbs in Tony & Ziva. But even more crucial to the possibility of Gibbs reuniting with his old teammates is the fact that Harmon is very much active within the larger NCIS universe.
| Show | Season | Premiere Date | Time (EST) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCIS | 23 | Tuesday, October 14 | 8 p.m. | CBS |
| NCIS: Origins | 2 | Tuesday, October 14 | 9 p.m. | CBS |
| NCIS: Sydney | 3 | Tuesday, October 14 | 10 p.m. | CBS |
Harmon is currently the narrator and executive producer of another spinoff, NCIS: Origins, which returns for season 2 on Tuesday, October 14, at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. The prequel, which focuses on the younger years of Leroy in the early 1990s, is set for a spinoff with NCIS season 23. It may be the case that an opportunity will present itself for a crossover between Origins and Tony & Ziva.
The first step towards that, of course, would be to secure a renewal for the couple-centric spinoff that would allow Harmon to cameo with the NCIS: Tony & Ziva cast. But with positive buzz for the Paramount+ original, that may just be within the realm of possibility.
