Over the years, NCIS has spawned numerous spin-offs (with the show itself being one, branching off from ’90s military series JAG), and recently, it has been intentional in the way it delivers these shows. The most popular ones, NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: Hawai’i, retained the same cop procedural structure and NCIS feel with a new cast in a new location. But NCIS: Origins gave us a completely different tone, focusing on character-centric stories and heavy themes rather than cases. Now, NCIS: Tony & Ziva, arguably the most highly-anticipated spin-off of the lot, just completely breaks the mold, opting for a huge genre shift to re-introduce two beloved characters.
The only real connection to the franchise is in the name and through the presence of Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo). The jump from a cop procedural to a crime drama doesn’t seem huge, but losing the episodic format and adding elements that feel more akin to a spy show than NCIS is groundbreaking for such a long-running, stable franchise. Going off the four out of ten episodes provided for review, this pivot is the perfect way to tell Tony and Ziva’s story, which is haunted by all the things left unsaid during their sudden exits. It may be a shock to the system, but it is promising.
What Is ‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ About?
Tony & Ziva picks up where the franchise left off five years ago, when Ziva flies to Paris and is reunited with Tony and their daughter Tali (Isla Gie) for the first time. Except, we see this reunion captured through Tony’s camera; in the present day, Ziva is wearing a glittering wedding dress and walking towards an altar to marry… another man? Cue yet another time jump, taking us to 9 days earlier and when Tony and Ziva are simply two co-parenting civilians (still not dating), who, respectively, own their own security company and teach language classes. While their lives are picture-perfect on the surface, their pasts still can’t quite let go of them.
Tony’s security company hits a roadblock as one of his clients, Interpol, has a massive security breach that leads to a multi-million-dollar theft which is eventually pinned on him. When Tali’s life is also threatened, Ziva is dragged into the turmoil while dealing with her own PTSD from being a Mossad and NCIS agent. As fugitives, the two go running across Europe, meeting a plethora of eccentric characters and trying to comb through a potentially huge Interpol conspiracy.
‘Tony & Ziva’ Make an Unprecedented, Yet Impressive Genre Shift For ‘NCIS’
First off, let’s pose the question of genre. If you’re strictly viewing Tony & Ziva as an NCIS spin-off, it’ll probably cause some dissatisfaction. Barring the similar vein of goofy humor that Tony delivers, the show is fairly tonally removed from the franchise, hauling in for the long game rather than episodic gratification. While it is technically a crime drama, it shares many qualities with a spy show, where the two fugitive leads have to remain elusive and there is a focus on technologically advanced machinery (ahem, murderous self-driving cars). But as a spy/crime drama, the plot itself is going in a fairly standard direction. Now, treating the series like it exists at the intersection of NCIS and a crime/spy drama (which it does) gives you a pretty impressive show.
Shifting genres may be unprecedented in the NCIS franchise and thus a risky move, but it was the genre the series needed to give justice to Tony and Ziva. The show handles the long-form storytelling well, making sure each beat fleshes out their dynamic now and the five-year gap. Sometimes the jumps between the three timelines can be confusing, but once the two “present ones” line up, it’s pretty much a non-issue. With a steady pace and a purposeful direction, the cohesive storytelling of these four episodes certainly bodes well for how the story will pan out, even if the plot points within the actual conspiracy are a bit predictable.
Tony & Ziva embraces the European locale; the architecture and earthy palette match beautifully with the gravitas in the atmosphere. Series creator John McNamara, alongside the two co-stars, weren’t afraid to jump into the grittiness of the titular characters’ relationships and identities from the get-go, wasting no time grounding the series in themes heavier than what we expect from NCIS. But it never necessarily veers into melodrama, mixing in enough action and humor to achieve a balance. But let’s jump into the real reason we’re watching this show: Tiva.
Weatherly and Pablo Are Fittingly at the Heart of This ‘NCIS’ Spinoff
Weatherly and Pablo do not skip a beat when reprising their old roles. Their chemistry is still delicious, banter still elicits chuckles and love still underlies their innocuous bond. Fans may have crossed their fingers that they would jump straight into a couple that’s been happy together for five years, but what Tony & Ziva does is arguably better. By limiting their relationship to co-parents and igniting an inferno of palpable chemistry between them, we get to re-live the will-they-won’t-they flirty undertones we’ve been missing for years before their relationship changes again. It’s an effective way to re-introduce the romance while keeping us yearning.
The supporting cast, including Amita Suman, Maximillian Osinkski and Anne-Marie Waldek, give pretty strong performances within their limited roles, where some characters act more like foils than others. They are surprisingly emotionally textured, contributing to the stakes and overall feel of potential danger in a show where the two main characters naturally feel like they have plot armor. Next to them, Weatherly’s Tony is just as charming and absurd as we left him in the flagship show, but has a streak of maturity that Weatherly balances well. He still feels like Tony but with the onus of nearly a decade of parenthood and a white-collar job.
But hands down, it is Pablo’s Ziva who is the star of the show. Admittedly, I always had trouble connecting with Ziva in the flagship show: loved her confidence and skills, but grew tired of the repetitive storylines filled with trauma and that specific strand of over-sexualization female characters tended to get pigeonholed in during the 2000s. The spin-off tackles her trauma in a deeply refreshing way, and Pablo handles the shift incredibly, allowing the emotions to pan out with a somber yet reflexive touch. But, like Weatherly, she retains a semblance of actually endearing flirtiness and badassery from her original character that makes her arc the most dynamic and compelling.
There’s self-awareness mixed into Tony & Ziva. The characters and relationships provide something new while addressing the past, including potential complaints people may have had. It’s littered in the script too, with Tony aptly describing this as something between a “spy thriller and workplace comedy.” As mentioned, NCIS has become more intentional with the franchise, and the beginning of this spin-off bodes well for the rest of the season — hopefully, for Tiva fans too.
NCIS: Tony & Ziva premieres September 4 on Paramount+.
NCIS: Tony & Ziva
‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ pulls no stops with the couple’s return to the franchise, and you’ll either hate it or love it.
- Release Date
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September 4, 2025
- Network
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Paramount+
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Michael Weatherly
Tony DiNozzo
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Pros & Cons
- The show captures the couple’s original on-and-off romance while expanding on it.
- Pablo’s Ziva is really a standout as her character is fleshed out and renewed in a way the flagship show failed to do.
- The spinoff’s atmosphere strikes a balance of deep emotional currents and a light-hearted brand of self-aware humor.
- The show’s genre shift could alienate long-time ‘NCIS’ fans.
