‘A New Element Of Trouble’: Michael Weatherly Explains Why Tony And Ziva’s Daughter Is So Important To Their NCIS Spinoff
When Michael Weatherly exited NCIS as a series regular at the end of Season 13, his character, Tony DiNozzo, left the law enforcement agency with a new, special young lady in his life. After learning that Cote de Pablo’s Ziva David, who hadn’t been seen since early Season 11, was presumed dead, Tony met his and Ziva’s young daughter, Tali, whom had been kept a secret from him. Ziva, of course, was later revealed to still be alive, and when we last saw her, she was headed to Paris to reunite with her family after staying hidden for years. Now the officially-titled NCIS: Tony & Ziva spinoff is finally pairing Weatherly and de Pablo’s characters back onscreen again, though as the former explained, Tali will also be important to this Paramount+ subscription-exclusive series.
NCIS: Tony & Ziva will follow the title characters going on the run in Europe after Tony’s security company, but until now, it was unclear if Tali would be joining them or be stashed someplace safe. Michael Weatherly has now confirmed that Tali will very much be integral to the series, even saying that it should really be called NCIS: Tony, Ziva & Tali. While attending the Monte Carlo TV Festival with Cote de Pablo to celebrate the NCIS franchise hitting 1,000 episodes earlier this year, the actor stated that Tali helps with “shaping the story” and adding “a new element of trouble.” He further explained (via Deadline):
Every choice that Tony and Ziva have to make in their adventure, their child is first and foremost in the front of their mind. When we were on the NCIS the mothership, we didn’t have children. When you have a child, you have to navigate what is best for them. And then maybe you have a co-parent that you have a tumultuous relationship with… and oh, wait, we also have to save the world.
Tali is estimated to have been born sometime in early 2014, meaning that she was roughly two years old when Tony met her in “Family First,” which aired in May 2016. Given that NCIS: Tony & Ziva will begin shooting in Budapest in four weeks, it seems doubtful the show will be ready for release on the 2024 TV schedule. So with a 2025 debut more likely, Tali will presumably be around 10-11 years old when the spinoff begins. That’s just old enough for her to be aware the danger she and her parents are now in, and as Michael Weatherly laid out, Tony and Ziva will need to prioritize their daughter’s well being when making any major decisions.
There’s no word yet on who will play Tali in NCIS: Tony & Ziva, though it stands to reason that casting will be announced either shortly before cameras begin rolling or sometime during production. In addition to their acting duties, Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo will executive produce the spinoff alongside showrunner John McNamara, who also wrote the first episode, as well as Laurie Lieser, Christina Strain and Shelley Meals. This is the second NCIS spinoff on the way, as the prequel NCIS: Origins will arrive on CBS sometime this fall.
While we wait for more details about NCIS: Tony & Ziva, you can listen to de Pablo and Weatherly’s new podcast Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch. Among the things they’ve talked about so far are how de Pablo thought Weatherly was trying to “sabotage” her Ziva audition, an accidental goof of Weatherly’s that made it into Caitlin Todd’s death scene, and de Pablo’s idea for how Ari Haswari, Ziva’ deceased half-brother, could be brought back.
