The NCIS franchise might continue its tradition with an exciting Tony & Ziva spinoff overlap, offering fans a thrilling new storyline. Showrunners have the opportunity to create dynamic character crossovers within the expansive NCIS universe, enhancing the viewer experience. Launching the Tony & Ziva spinoff as a backdoor pilot on NCIS could not only draw attention to the new series but also honor the franchise’s successful trend.
NCIS is set to uphold a fascinating 21-year franchise tradition with the upcoming Tony and Ziva spinoff. The new series will reintroduce flagship NCIS characters Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) in late 2024 or early 2025. Filming is scheduled to begin in summer 2024 in Budapest and other European locations. The spinoff’s timeline provides an exciting possibility for an overlap with the flagship series, which is scheduled to return in the fall 2024-2025 TV cycle following its renewal for season 22.
With such an expansive franchise, showrunners can creatively utilize their cast of characters, which could seamlessly blend into Tony & Ziva’s story. It’s common for NCIS characters to appear across different shows, with omnipresent characters like Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll) competing for the record of most appearances within the franchise. It would feel natural for Tony and Ziva to cross over with the flagship series since that’s where their characters originated.
One of the most exciting possibilities for the Tony and Ziva spinoff is launching it through the flagship series. It seems fitting for the characters to return to NCIS, where they both began. Michael Weatherly was with the cast from the beginning, and Ziva joined in season 3. To draw attention to the new series and reintroduce fan-favorite characters to the main series, NCIS should launch the Tony & Ziva spinoff as a backdoor pilot.
Even though the show has already been greenlit, mimicking the backdoor pilot technique could draw more attention, with NCIS: Tony & Ziva streaming on Paramount+. Launching the limited series on CBS would uphold the trend of successful backdoor pilots within the franchise. In a recent TVLine interview, NCIS co-showrunner Steve D. Binder entertained the idea of setting up Tony & Ziva on the flagship series:
“You know, that’s been a long-running creative process, going through several incarnations of things…. Let’s put it this way, I would love to. I would love to do that, and I don’t speak for Michael [Weatherly], but I have a feeling Michael would be up for anything like that. So, we’re all for it.”
If the Tony & Ziva spinoff takes this direction, it wouldn’t be too surprising, especially since DiNozzo made a surprise return in NCIS season 21. Michael Weatherly also hinted that Cote de Pablo would return in season 21 earlier this year after his appearance on the flagship. Her absence in the previous season makes her return to the main series in season 22 even more likely.