There’s a turning point coming for the NCIS team — and Wilmer Valderrama is giving fans a hint at what the explosive season finale is gonna look like.
The actor stopped by CBS Mornings on Thursday, May 1, and revealed that because the long-running series was “picked up for a 23rd season,” they decided to do a two-part finale for season 22.
“So the first part [aired] last Monday, big big questions,” he said. “And then the next episode answers all the questions.”
When Gayle King asked if Valderrama, 45, would confirm whether “anybody dies” in the upcoming episode, he went one step further with the teasing.
“Somebody does die,” he revealed. “Somebody dies — and it’s not the murder of the week. It’s somebody, unfortunately, very close to us, and it’s going to be very earth-shattering and really heartbreaking.”
Valderrama, who has played special agent Nick Torres since 2016, continued, “It’s going to shake up the team and I think it’s going to probably really push us to go rogue in season 23.”
“The biggest idea was to say, ‘How do we disrupt the peace of season 22 and set up the tone for season 23?’ And this episode does that better than we’ve done in many years.”
The actor told last summer that he feels “indebted” to NCIS fans given their loyalty to the series, which premiered in 2003, and that because of that, he wanted to give them the “turmoil” they’re used to seeing in season 22.
“The big conversation is, ‘How can we light some s— on fire this season?’ That’s what I want to do,” he said.
“I think it’s not going to be your casual like, ‘Oh, your favorite team is in trouble.’ It’s going to be more personal, more soul-shattering. There’ll be some [tragedy] this season.”
He also teased at the time that there could be “some new flames” for his character in season 22.
“Perhaps Torres might be ready for love this season. Who knows? That might be a conversation or may not be a conversation.”
The season 22 finale of NCIS airs Monday, May 5 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
