‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ Star Reveals How the Spin-Off Series Pays Tribute to Mark Harmon’s Gibbs

All aboard the nostalgia train. After fans basically broke the internet, garnering a whopping 7 million views on the newest trailer for NCIS: Tony & Ziva in less than a week, the stars are revealing their motivations behind the upcoming NCIS spin-off. While the series in and of itself of the military drama, JAG, the crime drama has eclipsed the series in longevity as it enters its 23rd season in October. NCIS: Tony & Ziva premieres September 4, exclusively on Paramount+ and now leads Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo are talking about how the series calls back to one of the characters that theirs interacted with most, Mark Harmon‘s Leroy Jethro Gibbs. While Gibbs has already been at the forefront of many fans minds, with the prequel series, NCIS: Origins, de Pablo shares what made her think of the character, often seen as a father figure to her Ziva David. She tells Entertainment Weekly:

“It was a tribute to Gibbs. I think we were in a school, right? On a bus. There was a camera, and he was sort of communicating with us. He felt no one was watching him. So since that moment, every time Michael and I — we could be anywhere in the world — and I’ll just go (performs the hand gesture) and we know.”

The Crossover Potential of ‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’

The spin-off series will take place abroad, with Tony’s security company framed, and the pair set off on the run from Interpol, all while trying to protect their daughter Tali, oh and fall into their decades long will-they-won’t-they patterns. While Sean Murray‘s Timothy McGee was mentioned in an earlier trailer, it’s not clear if anyone from the mothership could be further mentioned or make an appearance. Even with de Pablo’s sentiments about the “tribute to Gibbs,” Weatherly, at San Diego Comic Con, expressed a staunch disinterest in crossover. It was, however, followed up by staunch support from NCIS: Tony & Ziva‘s showrunner John McNamara, who said:

“Absolutely! It’s going to make them seem more realistic. There are name drops that come up. To me, I felt like we were setting the spike for that.“

So it seems while keeping it contained, and aptly named, by keeping the focus on Tony and Ziva, it won’t be isolating.