Warning! Slight spoilers ahead for Season 24, Episode 2 of NCIS, “Clean Slate.” You can stream it with a Paramount+ subscription.
NCIS is back on the 2026 TV schedule for Season 24, and so is Michael Weatherly. The actor returned to the Mothership as Tony DiNozzo 10 years after his departure and one year after the cancellation of NCIS: Tony & Ziva. So, with Tony back in D.C., many fans have been wondering if Cote de Pablo’s Ziva could make an appearance. Katrina Law is among the many wanting her to return, and I love her take on how it could go down.
While de Pablo left NCIS after Season 11, she had a brief arc in Seasons 16 and 17. However, Law didn’t officially join the series as Jessica Knight until the end of Season 18, meaning Ziva and Knight never actually crossed paths on-screen. Now, Law has come up with a way to make it happen. She told TV Insider how she would want the whole thing to go down, and I’m laughing just thinking about it:
I think if Knight and Ziva got together for an episode, one, the badassery that would ensue would just be epic for everybody, including myself. I would just be so happy. But I feel like we would just watch Tony DiNozzo sweating for the entire episode, which is also highly entertaining. I think McGee would actually get a big kick out of Ziva and Knight being together and ganging up on Tony. I think it would just be revenge for years and years of probie-ness.
Just seeing Knight and Ziva together would be incredible, and to add a little humor to it would be so much fun. The two of them together would make a force to be reckoned with, for both criminals and Tony.
As of now, it’s unknown if de Pablo could return to NCIS, but as the show explains it, Ziva is just a few hours away in Boston for a job, while their daughter Tali is at boarding school in the same city. So a return is possible, and after hearing Law’s idea, I need it now more than ever.
Even if we don’t get Knight and Ziva together in the near future, it’s been entertaining just seeing Knight and Tony interact. The latest episode of NCIS included a fun moment where Knight revealed that Ziva had called her to make sure Tony stays on his diet since he only listens to strong women because he’s scared of them. And she made sure to follow through on her promise, throwing away drinks and making sure Tony wasn’t eating anything unhealthy, which Law absolutely loved:
I love that the writers came up with such a cool way for Knight and DiNozzo to interact because at first, we were like, ‘Well, how are they going to be? Do they know each other? Did my father know him? Did we have interactions before?' And then to have Ziva, who is my favorite NCIS character of all time, call me and specifically say, ‘Watch his donut intake, genius.’
Now that Tony is the director of NCIS, we can likely expect many more entertaining interactions between him, Knight and the rest of the team, especially as he continues to settle into his new position. And even if Ziva doesn’t make an on-screen appearance any time soon, it wouldn’t be surprising if she’s calling Knight every once in a while to keep tabs on Tony.
NCIS’ 24th season just started, so there is going to be a lot more to look forward to, and I’m excited to see what happens. I'm not just referring to my excitement for the cases, either, since this is a season-long arc for Tony, who knows what could go down.
Tune in on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS for new episodes of NCIS.
