Tuesday nights on CBS almost look like they did a year ago, with NCIS and Michael Weatherly both present and accounted for, but the actor left the long-running procedural and is now heading up the new legal drama Bull. Even though the freshman series isn't intrinsically part of the same universe as NCIS like the official spinoffs are, Weatherly can easily foresee a crossover happening between his past and present shows. Here's what he'd do.
Might be interesting to actually have Tony be on Bull. Think about it. We do one of those split-screen-Hayley Mills-Parent Trap things. But Bull's got glasses on, and he's like, 'Hey, we look a lot like each other.' And then DiNozzo's like, 'No, I'm stronger than you.' And then Bull's like, 'Well, I think I'm thinner than you.' I dunno. Could be interesting. . . . Maybe Season 4 or 5, when we need a little punch in the ratings. (laughs)
Okay, so I guess we should all step back and give some thanks that Michael Weatherly isn't the person responsible for doing all the script-writing over on Bull. Kidding, of course! (Not really.) It isn't Weatherly's writing skills we're worried about, anyway, since it's his onscreen charisma that makes him such a fan favorite. And if CBS could double that up for a crossover event spectacular, that would be righteous.
While Michael Weatherly was laughing at the end there when speculating that it would take something like a Sweeps Week in order to get DiNozzo on Bull (or something similar), he's the one who brought it all up in the first place. The well-paid actor was being interviewed by TV Guide and was asked if he thought there was a chance that former agent DiNozzo may one day make a return to NCIS, and that's when he started talking about Bull and Tony sizing each other up. Now, some could take that as him saying-but-not-saying that he has no interest of plans on reprising that role, but we'd prefer to live in a world where Weatherly could potentially show up on every TV show. Get him on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, even.
It doesn't seem likely that Bull or NCIS is going to need to make a gimmicky play for a crossover anytime soon, since Season 14 of NCIS is crushing it in the ratings as usual, while Bull isn't doing that much worse, with both bringing in audiences in the double-digits on a weekly basis. In fact, Bull recently got its back nine episodes ordered, so it's well on its way to that Tony-fied Season 4.
All you have to do to keep up with both NCIS and Bull is turn your TVs to CBS on Tuesday nights, with the former kicking things off at 7 p.m. ET. To see what else is coming to the small screen, check out our fall TV schedule.
