#NCISVerse

Thanks for all the memories.

Adam Campbell is crossing over to NCIS: Origins.

The NCIS vet, who has appeared on the mothership in flashbacks as a young Donald “Ducky” Mallard, will reprise his role in a Season 2 episode that will serve as a special tribute to the late David McCallum.

“We wanted to do this episode to honor the memory of our dear friend David McCallum,” NCIS: Origins co-showrunners Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North said in a joint statement. “He was a beloved member of the NCIS family for so many years and we’re incredibly lucky to have the talented Adam Campbell back to bring the younger version of this iconic character to life once again. We even got to feature David’s music in the episode. We’re all very excited and can’t wait for the fans to see it!”

In the episode — which is named after McCallum’s 1966 release, “The Edge” — “Ducky is sent to Camp Pendleton to shadow the team while they work a case,” according to the official logline. “In the process, he reconnects with Gibbs after the two crossed paths years earlier.”

NCIS: Tony & Ziva will finally be premiering in just over a week, and stars and executive producers Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo spoke to PopCulture.com about the new spinoff.

The series is set to premiere on Thursday, Sept. 4 on Paramount+ with the first three episodes.

PopCulture: I know that a possible Tiva reunion has been teased for a while, especially by you, Michael, but how did the concept of this show come up?

Michael Weatherly: It’s so funny. We all have origin stories that are tricky. They’re all vaguely similar. It’s like the Bible. It’s like there’s a great flood, and then everyone pretty much agrees on that. There was a man who walked out of the desert with some knowledge. I like to think that the real seed of this show happened when we were still on the Mothership and I think it started with the fans, with fan fiction, and I forget what they call it when you when you ship something, because Cote and I, you know, we’re hired to play cops on a find the bad guy TV show with a rubber gun and a fake badge and a hat with a lot of letters on it. You’re running around, and it’s a job.

And when Cote arrived and Sasha Alexander left, and I had such a great time with Sasha, and I really am still friends with Sasha and love her, I was like, “God, how are we gonna replace Sasha Alexander? That’s a tall order.” And Cote and I found ourselves, like, so silly. We became fast friends and silly friends. And it showed on camera. While we were rolling, we would be messing around with each other in the squadron scenes. And so I think by the time we did our first TV Guide-ish cover, and it said Tiva or something. And they used the portmanteau of the characters. Do you remember that, Cote?

Cote de Pablo: Oh my god. Yeah.

Weatherly: I think that’s where this starts. I think Tiva starts with the fans shipping and all that stuff, which we weren’t even really aware of. And I remember doing press and being like, “Oh, yeah. If Tony and Ziva had a baby, it would be like some ninja assassin with movie quotes.” We used to make fun of the idea of this show. But at the core of every joke is this kernel of truth. Right?

PC: Kind of going off of that, actually, what has it meant to you seeing just how passionate the fans are about Tony and Ziva after all these years?

de Pablo: I think that’s the most beautiful thing in the world. First of all, we never take it for granted every single time. I think I had one time that was kind of a weird exchange with someone. But for the most part, every single exchange has just been nothing but respect and love and, my God, all these questions about these characters. “Will you and Tony ever get back together?” and “Whatever happened to the child?” and “Where are you guys living?” and “Are you guys making it work?” and “What are you doing now?” and “What’s the character doing now?”

PC: What was it like returning to these characters after so many years and working together again?

de Pablo: It was very dreamy. It was very nice. There are moments that I just look forward to going to the set every day. It didn’t matter how tired I was because Michael and I are revisiting these characters, but it’s also our baby. We’re executive producers. There’s a lot of unspoken things that we need to sort of manage, and we manage them quietly. We talk to each other, of course, but sometimes there’s not a lot we can do about things because we have to delegate.

We’re in front of the camera, and we have to make these scenes work. That’s our first and number one priority. But through it all, going to set was a dream knowing that I would have the great big luxury of working with my friend and my partner, which was so much fun. It’s also very palpable that we go back and we watch these scenes. And Michael, when they called me, I had not watched anything, and he said, “Have you seen it?” And I said, “No.” And he goes, “Oh, I think you’ll be happy.” And I said, “Well, how is it?” He goes, “Well, I have a word for you, but I’m not…” and I said, “Well, what is it?” He goes, “It’s kind of like a fairytale mode. It plays a little bit like a fairytale.” And I was like, “Oh my God. That’s such a word to use.”

So, of course, you throw that word to a person like me, and my mind spins. I immediately go into fairytale mode, which, by the way, that’s where I live constantly. So, it was very nice. It was very, very much a dream. We can only hope that we get another chance to play. That’s all.

Showrunner John McNamara may technically be making his franchise writing debut with the upcoming spinoff NCIS: TONY & ZIVA, but he has a long, personal history with the NCIS world.

“I have known Michael Weatherly [who played Tony on NCIS for 13 seasons before co-headlining NCIS: TONY & ZIVA] for 30 years; we’ve been very close friends,” McNamara tells Give Me My Remote. “Obviously, I knew him before NCIS. But I watched NCIS, we talked about NCIS, and I really felt they went to a whole other level when they cast Cote [de Pablo] as Ziva—I really got into the show. So I actually was a fan, a legit fan, because my buddy [was on it].” 

“And I thought the show was really good,” he continues. “I kept saying, ‘You don’t understand— this show is f—ing funny. Like, yeah, there’s a lot of dead bodies and, yeah, there’s a lot of serious military [stuff], but it’s hilarious.’ Like, the [Gibbs] and Tony relationship is fantastic. And I had that [knowledge] in my back pocket.”

McNamara, who has stayed busy executive producing shows like THE MAGICIANS and AQUARIUS, estimates he probably stopped watching NCIS after Weatherly left in 2015. That also meant that when doing research for a potential spinoff centered around former NCIS agents, he learned the mothership had officially revived Ziva (who had been presumed dead in season 13; her “death”—and the reveal she had secretly given birth to Tony’s daughter—helped facilitate Weatherly’s NCIS exit) and laid the groundwork for Tiva’s reunion in seasons 16 and 17.

“Only as I started the research for this did I catch up to the Ziva episodes in 2019 and ‘20, where she [reunited with Gibbs and the then-members of NCIS]; I totally missed that,” he says. “And she ends up going to Paris in the end [to reunite with Tony and their daughter]. That’s really cool.”

The writer is also aware of the duo’s passionate fanbase—plus, the show’s long history and constant syndication life—he’s embracing it. 

“Let me treat this like, ‘Okay, it’s a piece of writing,’” he says. “I’m taking a really, really beloved, well-known pair of characters [as our leads]. I knew in my heart of hearts and my gut that I was not gonna have them go back to NCIS. I wanted to keep them in Europe. And I wanted them to have kind of moved on with their lives, though not together as a couple. So I had to answer the question of why aren’t they together as a couple; that was interesting and fun to answer.” 

“And then what story, or stories, could take two people who are this far apart and bring them like this?” he continues, moving his hands from shoulder length apart to side-by-side. “I thought it’s got to be one single, huge, life-shattering story about them being framed and then being targeted.”

L-R Michael Weatherly as Tony Dinozzo, Cote de Pablo as Ziva David and Isla Gie as Tali In NCIS: Tony & Ziva, season 1, airing on Paramount+ 2025. Photo Credit: Jason Bell/Paramount+

And thus NCIS: TONY & ZIVA, which bows Thursday, September 4 on Paramount+ with three episodes, was born. According to the show’s official logline, when the series picks up, “Tony and Ziva have been raising their daughter, Tali, together. When Tony’s security company is attacked, they must go on the run across Europe, try to figure out who is after them and maybe even learn to trust each other again so they can finally have their unconventional happily ever after.”

“In these kinds of stories, whether NORTH BY NORTHWEST or THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR or OUT OF SIGHT, what really helps the relationship [shift] believable is the intense tectonic pressure of the plot,” McNamara notes. “If the plot is a lot of pressure, it forces the characters to drop a lot of their artifice and a lot of their bulls—. And let go of some petty resentment they both carry; even let go of a little bit of PTSD that they both carry, as well.” 

“So it was pure instinct,” he continues. “It’s not like I intellectually gamed out [a spinoff idea]; I didn’t test it out with a focus group. I told Cote and Michael, and they liked the idea; I told the studio, and they were fine. I wrote the pilot in 2023—and then there were promptly two strikes. So it sat on my shelf for six months. But as soon as the strikes were over, we were in pre-production.”

McNamara is quick to praise Weatherly and de Pablo for their contributions to the show’s first season, too…which includes a more arc-centric form of storytelling.

“There can be something very satisfying about a closed-ended mystery, especially for a viewer,” McNamara notes. “It sort of answers something, psychologically, because the world is chaos and mystery is always solved on TV. But Michael said, ‘I just wanted to always try and develop a relationship and characters; a continuous stream, where the relationship is not interrupted by the plot. The plot and relationship are intertwined.’ That was his idea.” 

“And I said, ‘What about, like, a really fun, cool story where you get framed and who framed you, and why? Why do they want to kill you? Why did they want to kill your daughter?’” he continues. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah. Like that. And lots of European locations and stuff.’—That’s kind of how we talk. Either that or movie references.” 

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 24: (L-R) Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo and John McNamara attend as the “NCIS: Tony & Ziva” cast visit Paramount+ The Lodge during 2025 San Diego Comic-Con on July 24, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Paramount+)

(McNamara also credits de Pablo with coming up with one of the most intriguing moments of the show’s first episode…but more on that later.)

The trio found an easy balance in their creative process, too. “It was great working with both Michael and Cote because they were most concerned about the characters and the relationship, and they really left the plot up to me,” McNamara says. “They were very, very involved—in the best possible way— collaborating and just adjusting and fine-tuning. And also going just as deep as we could go, both in [the flashbacks to the] relationship in 2020 and the relationship in 2025.”

Some of your favorite TV shows will soon begin streaming for free as part of a new blockbuster deal that’s shaking up CBS programming. News broke this morning that CBS-backed shows such as Matlock, Watson, NCIS: Origins, Elbesth, Fire Country, and Ghosts will begin streaming for free on Pluto TV starting next month. There is, however, a catch. With new seasons for each show on the way, fans won’t be able to watch the latest episodes on Pluto TV, only past seasons. For example, the first season of Matlock, Watson, and NCIS: Origins will be available to watch, along with the second season of Elsbeth, the third season of Fire Country, and the fourth season of Ghosts.

This deal is reportedly geared much more towards pulling in newer fans than pleasing established viewers. The goal here is to get those who aren’t familiar with CBS shows to check out older seasons ahead of the newer seasons' arrival on the network later this year. The fall TV slate is gearing up to begin soon, and now that CBS has made some of its biggest hits available to watch for free (with ads) for new viewers, numbers could soar higher this fall than ever before.

The first round of California’s $750 million tax incentives program announced today is betting big on Hollywood, literally and figuratively.

Season two of Lionsgate’s Emmy-nominated The Studio is one of 22 television projects the state has approved under its just expanded Film and Television Tax Credit Program. A new Hulu drama from Dan Fogelman and a new Larry David series are also among shows unveiled today that are, all in, projected to bring $1.1 billion to the state’s economy.

This is the first round of tax credits since the state nearly doubled available funding for qualified film and television productions. The move followed devastating wildfires last year that capped decades of runaway production. Applications jumped nearly 400% with the sweetened incentives.

“California has long been the entertainment capital of the world — and the newly expanded film and TV tax credit program is keeping it that way. This program means paychecks for middle-class workers, opportunities for small businesses and investment in communities up and down the state. We’re not just protecting our legacy — we’re reminding the world why the Golden State remains the beating heart of film and television,” Newsom said.

His office said the shows are projected to generate $714 million in qualified expenditures and $413 million in qualified wages across the Golden State. They will account for more than 1,100 filming days statewide, a major boost to local economies up and down California.

Deadline had signaled last week that more allocations were on the way after a round in June, when Dan Fogelman and Ryan Murphy collectively snapped up nearly $40 million in funding.

“The Film and Television Tax Credit Program is meeting the challenge of creating jobs and keeping productions here at home,” said Colleen Bell, Executive Director of the California Film Commission. “These 22 television projects will employ thousands of Californians and generate hundreds of millions for our state’s economy. Most importantly, they will keep world-class talent and crews here, ensuring California drives the future of storytelling.”

The shows are a combination of five renewals, two productions relocating to California and fifteen new series, including one limited series and three pilots. Collectively, the projects are expected to employ 6,500 cast and crew members, along with 46,100 background performers (measured in days worked). While most filming will take place in Los Angeles, four projects will shoot at least partially outside the region.

Highlights from this latest round of awards include:

New pilots and returning series include a new Hulu drama series from This Is Us and Paradise creator Dan Fogelman from 20th Television; a new HBO series by Larry David; second seasons of Lionsgate’s (AppleTV distribution) Emmy-nominated The Studio and Warner Bros. Television’s (Apple TV+ distribution) Emmy-nominated Presumed Innocent; Sony Pictures Television’s S.W.A.T. Exiles; CBS Studios’ NCIS: Origins; Group Chat, a new 20th Television pilot for Hulu from Kenya Barris

Tom Segura’s Netflix series Bad Thoughts is relocating from Texas.

“I am thrilled that we are going to be able to shoot ‘Group Chat’ in Los Angeles thanks to the California Film Commission tax credit. As an LA native, I feel lucky to have been able to shoot so many projects here throughout my career and love that we’ll be able to continue spotlighting our incredible city, its people and the culture. Not only does this credit allow us to work with the best crews and craftspeople around but, more importantly, it allows us to create jobs and support the LA film community at a time when it’s more important than ever,” said Group Chat creator, EP and showrunner Kenya Barris.