CBS Risks Repeating Its Biggest Franchise Mistake With NCIS Season 24

Published Sep 11, 2026, 1:15 PM EDT

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NCIS season 24 is going to change the face of the flagship series of the CBS franchise, but in taking some major risks, the series could be repeating its biggest mistake for a second time in franchise history. While NCIS is just one of the shows in the long-running franchise that will be hitting the air on CBS this fall, the flagship series is coming back for its twenty-fourth season with some major updates. With the return of Tony DiNozzo Jr. (Michael Weatherly), who most recently appeared in NCIS: Tony & Ziva on Paramount+, the series is opening new doors.

While returning cast members aren't necessarily a surprising part of the NCIS makeup, the fact that a past franchise cast member is coming back for more than a few episodes is different for the long-running series. Tony, who appeared in his own spinoff co-starring Cote de Pablo as Ziva David, his longtime on-again off-again love and professional partner, will be coming back to NCIS season 24 for a season-long arc, but after the events of the spinoff, his return feels questionable in ways. During past returns to NCIS after his initial departure, Tony's stories have revolved around big character moments.

With a plot that likely has to do more with the MCRT's work than it does with ironing out his personal life or romance with Ziva, which was finally in a good place by the end of the spinoff, Tony's return could be a tough sell for NCIS season 24.

Cote de Pablo Isn't Set To Return As Ziva David In NCIS Season 24

CBS

Although Weatherly will be returning to NCIS season 24 for a season-long arc, the show’s has confirmed that Cote de Pablo won’t be coming back to the show along with him. The pair, who left the show separately and returned in different arcs as well, most recently played the characters together in the short-lived Paramount+ series NCIS: Tony & Ziva. The spinoff show, which saw Tony and Ziva caring for their daughter, Tali, in Paris, took viewers on a wild ride as the pair were flung back into their lives of villain-chasing and justice-seeking after they were put in danger.

While the spinoff series ended on a sweet note, with Tony and Ziva finally choosing to work through their issues and pursue their relationship with the blessing of their daughter, the fact that Weatherly will be returning to the flagship series means things are still changing for the NCIS couple. Though the show’s creative team has made it clear that they want to keep Ziva top of mind within Tony’s NCIS season 24 storyline, her absence is likely to be felt more thoroughly than it has in the show’s past when he’s returned, especially after the spinoff series’ difficult cancellation.

After NCIS: Tony & Ziva, Seeing The Pair Apart Won't Satisfy Viewers

Image via CBS

Throughout NCIS’ post-Tony and Ziva run, viewers have struggled to see the characters come back with separate storylines, especially knowing that their lives are intertwined. When Tony left the series after Ziva faked her own death, it was to ensure that he could be a capable father to their daughter, but when she returned to the series seasons later alive, terrified, and eventually reuniting with Tony, the absence of the other character was felt implicitly. NCIS used the absence of the other character in both of their subsequent returns, but after the spinoff, that gimmick may feel its run dry.

NCIS may be promising updates that weave Ziva and Tali into Tony’s story, but bringing one character back into the fold of the MCRT without the other, at this point in the franchise’s run, doesn’t feel like an authentic move. With Tony and Ziva having become a packaged deal within their spinoff, the pair being separated isn’t of interest to viewers who have been waiting to see the characters back on their screens for years. Despite the fact that NCIS: Tony & Ziva didn’t work, NCIS choosing to bring half the pair back to the series isn’t the right move.

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