Soap fans remember Michael Weatherly from his time as Cooper Alden on Loving and The City, and he is also the ex-husband of Young and the Restless star Amelia Heinle. But in 2003, he catapulted to super-stardom when he created the role of very special agent Tony DiNozzo on the CBS series NCIS. Tony’s will-they-or-won’t-they chemistry with former Mossad agent-turned-NCIS agent Ziva David, played by Cote de Pablo (learn more about her here) who joined the seriesin Season 3, captured the hearts of fans everywhere and earned them the smush name of Tiva. Now comes word from Deadline that the two characters will be reuniting in a spinoff adventure series for streamer Paramount+.
While the two were never a couple on the show, Tony’s exit from the show (so he could go on to star in the series Bull, which ended last year) revealed they had been together right before she left the show, when he followed her to Israel, since it centered on the discovery of a daughter Tali (named after Ziva’s sister lost to a suicide bombing).
At the time, Ziva was believed lost in a bombing that Tali survived and the young girl was sent to live with Tony. Wanting to take care of her as a single father propelled him to leave the team (and the show) and head to Europe. The actor has returned only once — last week as Tony arrived to honor the team’s medical examiner, Ducky — in a show that was a tribute to fellow original cast member David McCallum (read tributes to him here).
On the other hand, de Pablo returned in Season 16’s finale, revealing she was alive, to warn Gibbs (Mark Harmon) that his life was in danger. But the popular actors haven’t returned together so this new series, set to be shot in Europe, will be a dream come true for fans, who are hoping to finally get some answers about their life together. There is no name for the project as yet (it is nicknamed NCIS: Europe), which is set to begin shooting later this year, for the 10-episode series.
The show’s official synopsis states, “Tony left the NCIS team to go raise their daughter. Years later, Ziva was discovered alive, leading her to complete one final mission with NCIS before she was reunited with Tony and their daughter in Paris.”
The synopsis continues, “Since then – and where we find them in the new Paramount+ original series – Tony and Ziva have been raising their daughter, Tali, together. When Tony’s (refresh your memory about Tony here) security company is attacked, they must go on the run across Europe, try to figure out who is after them, and maybe even learn to trust each other again so that they can finally have their unconventional happily ever after.”
People also had the actors’ joint statement: “The world of Tony and Ziva (and daughter Tali) promises to be an action-packed roller coaster fueled by love, danger, tears, and laughter. We also want to acknowledge and thank the fans from around the world who supported the ‘TIVA’ movement for years. To this day, they say hello in grocery stores and on the street to tell us how much these characters mean to them and ask what Tony and Ziva are up to now. This is for you!” the actors said.
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