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Although much has changed for NCIS as the CBS mainstay enters its 19th season, the plan is to give faithful fans the familiar show they have long known and loved.
Among the on- and off-screen shifts: Two characters were written out last spring, a pair of series regulars have been added for fall, Gibbs’ suspension took a deadly turn when he and his new boat went boom…. And on top of all of that, TV’s most watched drama has been handed its first time slot change ever, moving from Tuesday’s leadoff spot to Mondays at 9/8c (beginning Sept. 20).
TVLine spoke with showrunner Steven D. Binder about navigating this transition, bringing the big orange room’s “band back together,” and inviting fans to rediscover a familiar favorite when they now tune in on Monday nights. (Tiny bits of this Q&A have previously appeared in TVLine scoop and Fall Preview columns.)
TVLINE | We said goodbye last season to Jack (played by Maria Bello) and to Bishop (Emily Wickersham). You have since added Katrina Law full time, as well as Gary Cole, and we’re reportedly getting a bit less Mark Harmon. How does this season rank as far as the challenge of transitioning?
The biggest transitions we’ve had to face were last season — trying to find a fitting end to the Jack Sloane character and then a fitting end to the Ellie Bishop character. Now, Katrina’s here, so we’re getting a chance to get to know [Agent Jessica Knight], but as you might imagine, there’s some cleanup work we have to do based on the season finale that takes precedence over the more subtle character moments. Gibbs blew up in his boat, so we’re not going to open up with light banter in the squad room.
TVLINE | How much time has lapsed since Gibbs went boom?
We’re going to go fairly real time. We decided it’s too interesting of a moment to skip ahead of unless you’ve got a really good reason to do that, and we didn’t.
TVLINE | As I noted after the finale, Gibbs swam away on his own volition after “playing dead” for what seemed to be a purposeful amount of time. Did I read that right?
Yeah. We shot a lot of different things for that and there were a lot of different ways to cut it, and what we left with was something that we felt in many ways left all possibilities open. You see someone swimming away with purpose but he was pretty badly injured. Just speaking from experience, I got nailed by a car when I was 10, and if asked me how I was doing, I’d tell you I’m fine, and I wasn’t fine. So, all things are still possible with Gibbs. He’s not dead and we know he’s able to swim well enough to do that broad stroke we saw, but any number of levels of injury were possible for him at that point.
WATCH A SNEAK PEEK FROM THE SEASON PREMIERE
TVLINE | Is there anything else you can share about what Gibbs is up to when Season 19 opens?
Well, he’d been hunting down a serial killer, with a reporter (Marcie, played by Pam Dawber) who doesn’t really necessarily have the tools to deal with a serial killer. And he’s been cut off from his team, from that portion of his world. In the beginning episodes, that’s going to change. We’re going to “bring the band back together” to some degree so they can do what we have liked watching for 20 years, which is these people solving crimes together.
TVLINE | It was made very clear that Gary Cole’s character, FBI Special Agent Alden Park, is not “replacing” Gibbs. But is he there to fill a void as “the well-seasoned law enforcement agent”?
This is something I’d been saying we should do for a very long time, and when I took over as showrunner it was like, “We’re going to do this” — and then we just didn’t for a little while. I have been saying that we need to populate more characters in this show, in the vein of Joe Spano who plays Fornell, Muse Watson who plays Mike Franks…. The way you get those people who are really fantastic characters is you bring people in and you try them out and you see how it goes.
That was what initially motivated [the casting of] Katrina [Law]. With Gary Cole, you can almost imagine [that Agent Park] may be too close to Fornell in a lot of ways — he’s from the FBI, he’s in the same demo — but that was the initial impetus for bringing in characters. And we’re trying to do that this season with a little more forcefulness, bringing in people in the building who you haven’t necessarily seen but you know have been there doing stuff. And if something clicks, we’re like “OK, let’s bring that person back.”
TVLINE | But now some fans are worried that we won’t see Fornell again.
I can tell you that we will be seeing Fornell for as long as Joe Spano would like to be on the show. He’s just fantastic. We have him at least in one [Season 19 episode] and possibly more. Possibly more.
TVLINE | What do you want to say about Mark Harmon’s reportedly reduced presence as Gibbs this season?
I’d say that a lot of things are reported on the show that aren’t necessarily true. We are focusing right now on telling the best stories we can with the characters we have, and Gibbs is a part of that world, and I think we’re doing a pretty good job with that. It’s a little more complicated under the COVID regulations we’re under again, but one of things that we felt was missing in the last half of last season was that we had broken our band up and we wanted to get them back together. That’s really what we’re focusing on now.
TVLINE | I’m surprised to hear you say that, because it sounds like Gibbs might become some form of team leader again.
I will tell you that it’s not necessarily in a form or shape you might have expected. It’s not typical, but it will be something that is ultimately really enjoyed.
TVLINE | What’s the aftermath of Bishop abruptly peacing out on Nick and us?
It would be a really sad commentary on the Nick Torres character for her to just disappear like that and have it not affect him in some way. It could affect you in a lot of ways — you can be generally affected, you could be walking around telling everyone you’re fine and clearly you’re not…. But Nick Torres is tough exterior, soft interior, and we get a look at that soft interior.
TVLINE | Can you clarify what Ellie meant by when she said to Nick, “I didn’t mean for us to happen”? Was that not necessarily their first kiss?
I think there have been hints dropped along the ways that that was not their first kiss. And you will get some more hints of the extent of their relationship. Normal people might leave toothbrushes at the other one’s house, but Nick Torres might do things a little differently! You’ll get more clarification on exactly how far that relationship might have gone, although, as you could guess, when consenting boy adult meets consenting girl adult, and they like each other, things happen.
TVLINE | Once you’re done with the early-season “cleanup work,” will NCIS return to a typical Case of the Week format?
That’s the other thing we talked a lot about, and I will tell you that after we put some of these things to bed that we have been running with for a while, one of the things we said to ourselves was, “Let’s get back to some interesting cases without any overarching arcs.” Out of 400-plus episodes, 360 of them are described that way, but we’ve been not doing that for a while, so I think it’s time for us to sort of regroup and get back to telling good mysteries of the week with interesting characters, interesting stories, emotional hooks, and a satisfying ending.
TVLINE | Was going back to that trusted formula especially important with a brand-new time slot? So that if and when people do find you, they’re getting something familiar?
That could be a reason we would give, and it’s great that it worked out that way. As a writer working with writers, some of us are eager to get back to doing the things that we know. When we get off brand, that’s not what our training is in. Sometimes you get the more interesting episodes that way, because people get pushed past their comfort zones, but I think we’re all feeling it, too, that want to go back to what works. It’s a new time slot, so let’s not make everything new right now.
TVLINE | Any germ of an idea yet for doing a crossover with NCIS: Hawai’i at some point, to bridge the two shows on Monday night?
You know, I thought we left some good stuff on the table by not doing more of those in the past. I would love to do something like that, especially if I wrote it and got to fly to Hawaii while it was shot!
TVLINE | Hey, only if I in turn get to do a set visit.
[Laughs] Exactly. We haven’t discussed it yet, but I’ve worked with and known [NCIS: Hawai’i co-showrunner/former NCIS co-EP] Chris Silber for a really long time, so that always makes those sorts of things easier.
TVLINE | Lastly, is there any contingency plan in your back pocket in case someone decides that this is NCIS‘ farewell season?
There’s really a couple possibilities here. One is that we get cancelled tomorrow and then there’s nothing to be “contingent” about. The other option is that Gibbs is either solving cases in his 90s, or he gets a gold watch and retires. Neither of those things sound interesting to me, but at some point in time when that happens, if we find ourselves still on the air and people are thinking of retiring, you have to think about something befitting that character — and a gold watch ain’t it. But we’re not really thinking too hard at this moment about such things.
TVLINE | A handful of fans have been very doom-and-gloom, bleating “they’re putting the show out to pasture!” with a time slot change and all. I’m like, it’s TV’s most watched drama; it’s not going to lose its entire audience because of a time slot change.
That’s our reaction, too. When a show is on the bubble and the time slot changes, it’s usually to Sunday at 10 pm, and that’s not what we got. We got Monday, an hour later.
TVLINE | And you’re leading out of two solid sitcoms, and teeing up a buzzy new drama.
That’s right. We’re always the one leading in for everybody else, so I’m somewhat excited to be the show that gets a lead-in!
TVLINE | It’s pretty crazy, man. Nineteen years without a time slot change.
Yeah. Like you said, it’s a No. 1 one show, plus it’s 2021, not 1921. People watch TV differently now. As someone said to me, “Oh, it’s just going to be available a night earlier?” These days it’s not all about when a show drops. But you can watch it when it drops, and now it will be available to watch a night earlier, that’s how they thought of it.
Want scoop on NCIS, or for any other show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.
I’m not as concerned about the time slot change as I am the rumors about Mark Harmon not appearing so much anymore. I’m sorry Emily was let go; really was a bigger fan of her than of Ziva. I don’t think the time slot change will weather the storm without Gibbs center stage. Will miss Maria Bello too! Don’t take too much for granted about the show being tops for so long.
Emily was the one who chose to leave; the fact she announced her pregnancy shortly thereafter was deliberately timed.
For anyone curious–Emily Wickersham is now roughly around 7 months pregnant and ,by all accounts,looks healthy and happy expecting her first child!
who is the father of this baby?
Actor James Badge Dale.
I agree, Diane. I’m still stinging from the adieu of Tony, Ziva, et al. we need shrinks (free of course) who specialize in TV/character departures grief. Sigh….
Off to get a life. Oh look! I think I just saw an exiting actor. the chase is on —
First, Emily WAS NOT let go. She left on excellent terms, because she chose to start a family. The door is always open for a return if she chooses.
Second, with BULL closing out after six seasons, Michael Weatherly has expressed an openness to returning to NCIS.
If he does, there has to be a personnel shuffle. First, move Vance to Homeland Security, as his daughter Kayla is at FLETC., which tells us she’s now with NCIS herself.
Second, bring DiNozzo in as Director, as the Director does not have a mandatory at age 57 retirement that agents do.
With Parker in place as leader of Team #1, keep McGee, Knight, and ADD Kayla Vance.
Third, bring Ziva back as leader of Team #2, made up of her, Torres, and the 10-year-old kid from early in the series who helped save his commander dad who was kidnapped,. He’d be about 24 now…
Would bring back a whole breath of fresh air and the best of the old and the new. If FBI works well with focusing on two teams, NCIS can do it even better…
What an incredible photo of the 70 year old Leroy Jethro Gibbs as he completes his escape from the Old Agents’ Retirement Home.
I’m happy with what I heard and am looking forward to the new Show, as well. Also, glad that CSI-Vegas is back!
But…moving NCIS to Monday nights will be a hard choice for the NFL football watchers.
I’m excited to hear it’s moving to Monday because Mondays stinks for my shows, thanks. Also I’m in love with all NCIS players!
I agree, I think Monday night football spells death for most shows in that time slot on CBS.
Monday night football, while it does well, always lags behind Sunday and Thursday in the ratings. It depends on the match-up. But certainly not the kiss of death.
As the article stated, there will be many people who will watch on DVR or online, as is the case for all shows these days.
Except for us older folks who don’t have these options! No dvr,no streaming devices. Really sucks when one gets up at 3 am. I’m usually in bed at 8 pm!
Michele Conner- you have an antenna????
Michele, I am one of the older folks. I bought my first VCR back in the late 80’s, now use a dvr, and do some streaming. I try to be in bed early, but make the exception for things I really want to watch live. I’m sorry if income or locality prevents you from watching things on a delayed basis. If you really don’t have any other options then you must not be watching much of anything on broadcast, depending on your time zone, and I take it you don’t have cable because if you did having a dvr is not that much more and worth the cost. This is your choice, even if you feel it is forced upon you by economics or schedule, but sometimes I think people just want to use that as an excuse.
With all the politicization in sports, the NFL — and its commissioner sister-boy — in all his politically-correct butt-kissing, the NFL has become irrelevant of its own doing.
Not with the ability to record shows.
I am one of the people that fell in love with NCIS. I wanted love stories with Tony and Ziva. They should have stayed on the show. I hope they will be back. I didn’t like when Abby left. I wanted Ellie and Nick to have love. And I don’t want Gibbs to go. Why are you changing everything??
Abby was a meddler and interferer whose stickybeak ways ‘rang the bell’ with me in Season 6, where she should’ve been FIRED FOR CAUSE.
Had one of my forensic staff pulled that crap (lining up a potential perp with his adult daughter), and interfered with an active case, I’d have had her escorted OUT THE DOOR and barred from related employment in government FOR LIFE, on the grounds we cannot have a case compromised because she wants to play Pollyanna!!!
They can always tape one or the other?
That’s why most tv sources have taping of programs included in subscriptions.
I have YouTube TV- and love it. I can set any program I want to record and it ethology that program for up to 9 months. YouTube TV is Cloud based with any recording you do. And once you set a program to record, it holds it until you take it off of record. So, all my favorites are all ready set no matter what day or what time they come on, it records the show.
(And it will – ”hold”- that program)
Stupid Spellcheck putting in words for me!!!
Umm, the NFL is in a complete downward spiral over the last few years. It is called the No Fun League for a reason and has become so political. Plus there are these things called DVR’s, streaming services etc that allow you watch the show whenever you want. I don’t see a problem here.
Hope you have beautiful baby. Hope you come back to ncis in the future we miss you
I’ve enjoyed the show from day one, but will really hate it if that new guy ends up running the team and not Tim. He has grown so much over the years and had to put up with Tony’s BS, he deserves being team leader. I hope Gibbs stays around, but if he does leave, then Tim is the man to take over. He could be the new Gibbs and Gibbs would be the new Mike Franks.
The problem with that is the storyline probably won’t allow that right away. The team should be facing fallout from the lies they told to cover up for Gibbs, and then on top of what Bishop did (or appeared to do), I would think that McGee and Torres are going to be on probation for a while.
The team already received any punishment they will have for the dog incident back in season 18.
McGee and Torres did nothing wrong in relationship to Bishop so why would they be punished?
Because you aren’t going to promote an employee who just recently lied to cover up for their boss, then on top of that one of their co-workers went rogue, it’s not good for the entire team to have these incidents piling up. McGee and Torres will need to build back some trust from the Director before they can move forward.
What show have you been watching? There’s no need for McGee and Torres to build up trust – it already exists. After all McGee has already been running the team, and what Bishop did has no bearing on this. It’s not like the rest of the team was covering for her. This is the show’s DNA, why would they change it at this point?
Right !!
Garry Cole’s character-Alden Parker–is an FBI Agent.Not even an employee of NCIS .
yeah, just like fornell…
Tim has come a long ways from JAG. He was so young on there but a real jerk.
Not even the same character on JAG.
We have to accept the fact that he just turned 70 years old and he probably is wanting to retire and slow down a-bit, spend more time with his wife and grandchildren, travel. We all aim to do this sooner or later. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mark Harmon and NCIS- and it will hurt when he does retire but it happens and hopefully he will come on every now and then like Fornell.
I’m hoping Tim takes over also !!
Tim TURNED TEAM LEADER DOWN; he has a wife and family. Parker doesn’t.
I will absolutely be watching on Monday ay 9.
My question: how did Gibbs get that boat out of the basement?
Yes, would really love to know that one and who is the RED head that picks GIBBS up occasionally in a silver convertible?
The name of the redhead was never revealed; she really only appeared in a few episodes in season 1 and maybe season 2. However the redhead was played by Vivian Bellisario, wife of Donald P. Bellisario and mother of Sean Murray.
How awesome!
😂😂😂😂❤️
My guess is that there’s a garage door that we haven’t seen !!!!
i think i actually saw a garage door, slightly….
Matt, Matt, Matt – you’ve been holding out on us – your loyal readers⁉⁉🙄👀
.
You’re forgiven since you were probably not allowed to print until today. It sounds better than before but, and it’s a big but, as I’ve said before I have more concern with Gary Cole joining the cast than less Gibbs and the day change.
.
If Gibbs is in less episodes he can still play the father figure to the team and maybe we can see a romance develop between he and Marcie Warren. He did give her an interview, which is a major first.
I’m glad that we’ll also see Fornell. With or without
Gibbs, he’s a great character. If they want to bring in a new probie, how about Sean Harmon, if he wanted it? He can act, he’s familiar to the fans and we’d have another generation to watch even though he wouldn’t be a Gibbs. Just a thought.
.
Matt I really think you need to do a set visit in Hawaii, once it’s safe, ya know, to ‘really’ keep the readers in the loop.😉 I’d say it’s imperative!
We always publish our Fall Preview Spectacular before running any full Q&As.
When will we see Gibbs fate in the UK. I really can’t wait
FYI, Pam didn’t want her character to do romance with GIBBS.
That fine. There’s nothing wrong with making a new friend and he trusts her, a reporter, which is major. After all, with Jack gone he needs someone for his poker game.
I thought the picture was for TWD. Gibbs looks a bit rough!
Thank you such much for the great interview Matt. The only question I have is will we ever get to see either Jimmy’s daughter or McGee’s twins (and I’m afraid that still won’t be for awhile because of covid, but I keep hoping).
Anyway looking forward to NCIS Mondays
Move Gibbs to Assistant Director; place him in Sloan’s old office. Have him ‘travel’ to allow him the periodic appearance.
Remember the kid in ‘Honor Code’ (S3, EP7) whose dad was kidnapped and significantly helped the team find Dad? He should be old enough to have gone through FLETC and be eligible to join the team by now to fill the fourth slot.
It really made me mad that you changed NCIS to Monday night and at 9:00! WHY???? If you think die hard fans of football or Dancing with the Stars are going to jump to NCIS, your crazy. As far as Hawaii version, flat out forget it! And if you think having Tuesday a solid FBI shows, I’ll be watching the History Channel: The Curse Of Oake Island! Good luck with your plamning.
Not pleased to hear Fornell will be back. I can’t stand that character and am surprised to hear he’s liked by fans.
Fornell is a great character. Now Kaisie, I would love not to have her in the series.
Also would be great to have Jimmie act less idiotic, always smili g. Nobody normal acts like that.
I love Fornell too and also wish they’d quit making Jimmy so silly and all. He’s a grown man and they need to make that apparent in the character.
I expect to see Fornell and Gibbs together some due to Fornell grieving over the loss of Emily and Gibbs will help him through that.
Day or time has no effect on me. I’m a die-hard NCIS fan and will be watching it no matter what day or time it’s on. I can always tape any other shows but I will never tape DWTS or Monday Night Football !!!!!!
Monday nights were always dead until 911- came on, Lonestar and the Good Doctor. But for me, my #1- show is “NCIS” to watch and tape the others !!!
with jimmys occupation, i think the silliness is what he needs…
Did anyone who approved the time/day change think about what this means as far as competing with MNF?
https://tvline.com/2021/09/11/ncis-season-19-new-monday-time-slot-csi-vegas-scheduling/
You know we’re not all in the same time zone, right?
There is this fascinating electronic device called “DVR.”
I watch nothing live. I find that for certain shows (This Is Us, for example) the commercials take me right out of the show.
Yeah, people do watch TV differently in 2021 than 1921. But what did he mean by that? I’m guessing 2003 and DVR/streaming. But how much does NCIS’s demographic do that? My wife is 70, doesn’t DVR/stream much, and goes to sleep before 10. So she’ll likely only watch NCIS if I eventually buy her the season DVDs.
Live + overnight Ratings are still the #1 single highest source of revenue for broadcast shows because the advertisers use it to set how many $ per minute they’ll pay per show. However,since viewers’ habits have shifted more and more to alternative delay watching the networks also have found ways to boost revenue for those alternatives.For example NCIS not only has long been one of CBS’s highest rated and viewed shows for ratings–it does very well in streaming not only on Paramount + but also other platforms ,strong syndication deals both nationally but internationally,DVDs,etc..
My dad embraced the DVR, and when needed, streaming, well before he turned 70. My 96-year-old grandmother still stays up until at least 11 every night. Both are NCIS fans.
We’re not young and have grown up sons but we DVR all the time so it doesn’t matter what time or day our shows are on. We do watch MNF at times but never live so that doesn’t bother me either. I’m looking forward to seeing NCIS tonight and even checking out the new one.
Well, it certainly can’t be any worse than last season.
Does ziva and tony return I read something saying they would
There is nothing by any trusted legit source to indicate either actor is returning .There are always gossip mill sites that thrive on spreading baseless rumors of character returns/character deaths, etc.. that do not happen.
I’m really going to be bummed out if NCIS get to far off what it supposed to be, jeez can’t we just have good show without all these side shows. Just saying….
No original crew not worth watching if Gibbs is not there won’t be the same that’s why I watch the show the old crew are great been watching the show for a long time Now can’t watch a show with people you don’t know sorry very passionate about the show
Understand what you are saying to some degree!
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… right?
Been watching the show from Day One, and have all of the DVD seasons except for the last 3 and this new one starting. My phone ringtone is the “NCIS Theme song”, You can say I am a BIG FAN.
When you have the chemistry of the characters and good writing, why mess it up!!! Bringing in different people, not a problem. But when you lose key characters… That’s a problem.
Yes, it is just a TV show. This show has been so good and fun to watch and we get caught up into the characters. It is sad, when the real world messes it all up!
Having that strong of a connection with a TV show is not a normal thing for me, but this show grabbed me at the first episode. Love Gibbs rules!
Miss ZIVA, TONY, ABBY and FRANK!!!
Doesn’t Hawaii have a 14-day quarantine requirement at the moment or have they lifted that? If they didn’t, it would make filming in Hawaii for someone from the mainland a bit difficult, wouldn’t it?
I’m also not excited for a crossover. Hawaii and DC are just so far apart and short of a serial killer who travels through all the 50 states it’s really hard to see how a case would involve both, the DC and Hawaii office and why anyone from either office would need to visit the other one’s set.
The Chicago shows aside, one of the best crossovers was the one where Tony had to pick up a prisoner in LA and lost him. That was very plausible but it did involve only one character from another show.
Anyway, really well done interview. Loved it and would love to read more of those.
Looking forward to it in England, but what channel and date it returning here ???
Hi I’m in Scotland it’s moving to Disney plus which is terrible they should move it to 5usa
Can they not get rid of McGee he’s becoming or has become a joke
Speaking on behalf of British ncis fans the plan to move to Disney plus is ridiculous since fox TV has been removed they should put the new season on 5 usa so every one can enjoy I tried to get contact info so I can email this idea to the director but his details are hush lol
Good info.
The name is Elly Bishop not Emily.
The extremely understandable conflation has been fixed.
Seems that more female roles are written off the show than male roles, which support rumors about Harmon being difficult to work with on set.
There have been many males written off as well through the years —-the original director of NCIS was Tom Morrow(left then returned years later to be killed)Tony (left alive),Clayton Reeves (killed)—-among recurring memorable male characters who were killed-Ari,Chris Pacci,Eli David,Nav Sec Jarvis,Mike Franks.McGee’s father,Gibbs’ father and ,Dorneget among others come to mind.It’s long been said that N C I S really stands for No Character Is Safe.There are many interviews with past and present cast /crew that speak of the high regard they have for Harmon—including Cote de Pablo(Ziva)s interviews when she returned to closely work with Harmon as a guest star in Season 17.
Gibbs is getting too old to be playing an active agent in the field.
You are as OLD as you feel!
Apparently, You Don’t Know Squat!
Mark Harmon is 70. IRL, NCIS agents MUST retire at age 57.