Tony & Ziva’s Spinoff Will Sadly Continue NCIS’ 20-Year Michael Weatherly & Cote de Pablo Disappointment

NCIS: Tony & Ziva will feature the iconic duo together again, but not without also continuing a major NCIS disappointment. The NCIS: Tony & Ziva spinoff will feature Michael Weatherly’s Tony and Cote de Pablo’s Ziva as they work hard to protect their daughter, Tali, after some threats are made against their family. The series will be the first time that Tony and Ziva will share the screen after their last shared appearance in NCIS season 11.

NCIS: Tony & Ziva is the latest addition to the NCIS universe after the franchise had previously launched NCIS: Origins in the fall of 2024. However, NCIS: Tony & Ziva will be unique to the NCIS franchise in that it will be the first series to focus exclusively on a pair of former special agents, rather than a team. This should be great news, but it is overshadowed by the fact that Tony and Ziva’s relationship still remains unclear even 20 years after the pair first met.

NCIS Failed To Formally Make Tony & Ziva A Romantic Couple Despite Being Partners For A Decade

Tony & Ziva’s Romantic Moments Weren’t Enough To Make Them A Couple

One of the best things about the earlier seasons of NCIS is Tony and Ziva’s pairing. They not only made a great team as partners, but their chemistry was also incredibly interesting to watch and helped bring life to the characters. They also shared an invigorating will-they-won’t they relationship that never actually became official, despite the fact that they share a daughter. Even with all of their romantic moments, Tony and Ziva remained a complicated pairing by the time Cote de Pablo left NCIS.

NCIS is a huge fan of slow-burn relationships, with almost all MCRT couples starting out as slow-burns. As a result, it is not a huge surprise that Tony and Ziva’s relationship was also stretched out as much as it was. However, most slow-burn relationships reach a satisfying ending; Tony and Ziva’s never did. Despite everything that has happened between them, Tony and Ziva never had a happy reunion on-screen on NCIS.

Tony & Ziva’s Relationship Continues To Be Unclear In Their Spinoff

The Pair Share A Daughter But Nothing Else Is Clear

While limited information has been revealed so far, the NCIS: Tony & Ziva trailer has shown the pair in their daily lives as they try to reignite their training to save and protect their daughter. While the trailer shows Tony and Ziva co-parenting and spending time together, it deliberately avoids revealing the pair’s status as a couple. In addition, Tony jokingly refers to Ziva as his “safe house roomie,” which adds to the ambiguity about the couple.

The couple’s unclear status adds excitement and intrigue to the trailer, but they have been in a slow-burn, will-they-won’t-they relationship for so long that it is starting to feel dragged out. All that is clear in the trailer about their relationship so far is that they both love and care for Tali, and they both care about each other. However, the question remains of just how much they care about each other and whether it is enough for the two of them to finally commit in NCIS: Tony & Ziva when they did not in NCIS.

NCIS: Tony & Ziva Must Finally Resolve The Pair’s Relationship Confusion

Tony & Ziva Both Deserve Clarity

After years of teasing their relationship, NCIS: Tony & Ziva is finally the NCIS franchise’s chance to clear up Tony and Ziva’s relationship status. If they are meant to be together as romantic partners, then the series finally has a chance to show that. The same is true if Tony and Ziva want to call it quits and limit their relationship to co-parenting Tali. Either way, the Tony and Ziva spinoff needs to put an end to their relationship confusion.

NCIS has already shown the tension between Tony and Ziva and the kind of stories that it can produce. NCIS: Tony & Ziva is a chance to show something new. The format is already entirely different from NCIS‘ usual structure, so it only makes sense to continue to add interesting elements to what is already set to be an exciting show. The most interesting thing of all would be to see the pair receive their long-deserved closure in NCIS: Tony & Ziva.