Some NCIS fans were no doubt disappointed when the Tony & Ziva spinoff was canceled after just one season. However, it looks like they have reason to be happy again as Michael Weatherly preps for Tony's return to the mothership show amid the 2026 TV schedule. Weatherly recently spoke about rejoining the long-running series, and it sounds like the spinoff isn't as dead as believed.
To be clear, Paramount+ subscription holders shouldn't expect to see Tony & Ziva Season 2 at some point. Yet Weatherly confirmed during an appearance at Comic Con Midlands in Birmingham, United Kingdom, that his return to NCIS would not erase the events of the failed spinoff. He teased a bit of what's on the way during a panel with co-star Cote De Pablo (via @a11laura):
It’s going to be very interesting to see what is revealed and unfurled. But I can tell you this: There is a definite connection between the show that we made and the canon that created within. There’s not going to be retconning of like, 'Oh, Tony & Ziva never happened.' They didn’t go to Budapest. I wish I could tell you one great thing.
It's makes a lot of sense that Tony & Ziva will be acknowledged in NCIS, especially since the show experienced some streaming success post-cancellation. And, of course, the producers may also want to ensure that the continuity remains intact. While the offshoot won't return to streaming for another go-around, fans who've been campaigning for it to return can, at the very least, take solace in the fact that Anthony DiNozzo's reappearance on NCIS will take the spinoff into account.
That aside, NCIS has its own cliffhanger to resolve at the start of Season 24, and there are some other big character arcs the show is building as well. Still, Michael Weatherly is banging the drum and promising the return will be worthwhile, hyping up the flagship series in the process:
I just know that it’s gonna be an exciting return, and sort of back to what Cote was saying. The formula of the original show with the crime and the investigation, and the red herring at the turn of the hour. Everyone chasing around… I have really enjoyed watching what the show’s done in the 10 years since I left. But it’s a different show now. So, I’m very much about respecting the show that I’m coming into. And being aware they’ve built an extraordinarily successful 10-year run. But that doesn’t mean what we did isn’t going to be able to live alongside and inside that show.
If I had to guess what's on the way for Tony's return, I'd say it'll be some sort of storyline that plays into the fallout from Tony & Ziva. I wouldn't expect that storyline to encapsulate the entire season, but rather be a two-to-three-episode arc, if we're lucky.
The biggest question right now is whether Cote De Pablo will join Michael Weatherly in his return or if Ziva David is going to be hanging back with her and Tony's daughter, Tali, at that time. I can imagine there being some disappointment amongst fans if both Tony and Ziva aren't in the mix, and I think the producers know that. All this to say, I wouldn't be shocked if CBS is sitting on another announcement about De Pablo's involvement, or is even keeping her return a surprise. That's just an assumption, though.
Of course, if she doesn't show up, I'm sure Tony will explain Ziva's absence. At the end of the day, I'm just happy there's still a show for these two to return to and that their spinoff will remain canon.
NCIS returns to CBS in the fall, and I'm stoked to see what Michael Weatherly brings to the table when he reappears as Tony. I'm also excited to see what's going on with the rest of the characters, especially after THAT dramatic standoff in the Season 23 finale.
