NCIS Season 19: The Beginning of a New Era for the Mystery Thriller Comedy Saga

 

NCIS may be one of the most epic and legendary storytelling sagas ever told, the story now spanning nearly two decades as NCIS heads into its 19th season premiering September 20th. To many, the series may seem to be another in a long line of forgettable TV procedurals but it is so much more than that as it is instead a richly-written character-driven show that emphasizes humor to a high degree without sacrificing anything in the way of dramatic stakes in its storytelling. Very much set in the real-world NCIS follows a quirky group of investigators that track down terrorists and other high-profile criminals in the world of the Navy and Marine Corps. The team is led by the unflappable and seasoned dogged investigator Leroy Jethro Gibbs played by none other than Mark Harmon who very well may be the TV star equivalent of Harrison Ford. Originating the role in the NCIS backdoor pilot on JAG, Harmon has led the NCIS franchise for the last 18 years, and going into the 19th season following the quite literally explosive cliffhanger last season Harmon will continue on the series though it may be in a more limited capacity moving forward. Regardless the NCIS saga is one that is not to be underestimated and the very fact of its longevity points to all the changes the show has sustained over the years and with major changes to the cast as of recently including the shocking departure of Emily Wickersham as Special Agent Eleanor Bishop and the addition of Katrina Law to the series as Special Agent Jessica Knight and Gary Cole as FBI Special Agent Alden Park the beginning of a new era of the veteran mystery thriller comedy saga is upon us for a series that still has a lot of life left in it full of rich character and world-building possibilities. 

 

 

NCIS Seasons 1-2: The Kate Years 

The early years of NCIS establish the tone of the show as being a cross between a pulse-pounding action mystery thriller and an eccentric screwball comedy in the vein of a sitcom like Friends. Furthermore, Sasha Alexander who plays Secret Service Agent Caitilin “Kate” Todd turned NCIS probie excels in being the strong female lead that is a key element in the dynamic of the eccentric NCIS team’s early years between Gibbs, Kate, Tony, and McGee. Her witty banter with Tony is a comedic staple of those early days as the former Catholic schoolgirl and skirt-chasing ladies’ man often butted heads to great comedic effect. All the key characters are established here with Ducky introduced as the long-winded but lovable medical examiner and Abby as everyone’s favorite gothic forensics scientist as well as McGee the MIT graduate probie who enjoys a nice hostile sibling rivalry dynamic with Tony following his introduction to the orange halls of NCIS. All this creates the stage for witty comedic banter and sophisticated situational comedy but at the same time while the show was mostly episodic at this point serialized arcs did play out in regard to character development of all the individual characters as well as the introduction of the major villain Ari, a duplicitous scumbag to say the least who has personal connections to the future of NCIS’s history which has ramifications on the ongoing saga of NCIS even 17 seasons into the storyline. However the first chapter of NCIS’s legendary saga which featured the cold and emotionally shut-off Gibbs, the ever skirt-chasing class clown and fanatical movie buff Tony, the playful but disciplined Kate, the green but evolving probie McGee, the whimsical Ducky, and his clumsy assistant Palmer, as well as the enthusiastic goth scientist Abby came to a close when the shocking and emotionally devastating murder of Kate occurred onscreen as she suffered a bullet to the head at the hands of Ari. Sasha Alexander departed the show so she could focus on her life beyond NCIS in establishing a family but her exit established a deep sense of stakes and danger in the DNA of the series which clearly laid the groundwork for the series moving forward in communicating the message that “no one is safe at any time and anyone can die at any moment.” 

 

 

NCIS Seasons 3-10: The Tony & Ziva Years 

Kate’s devastating death takes a toll on the characters moving into season 3 as the team takes action to get justice for her murder which brings a new NCIS director into the fold in the form of Gibbs’s old flame Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly) and Israeli Mossad Assassin Ziva David (Cote de Pablo). This certainly shook things up as the team is forced to come to terms with the death of Kate and deal with the new situational realities around them in the bustling world-building and character-enhancing stories brought forth in the series’s third season. Jenny Shepard being Gibbs’s former partner both in the field and otherwise takes on the reins as Director of NCIS and furthermore the first female director of an armed federal agency. The new arc plays out like a Chicago Hope reunion between Harmon and Holly, the two having played a romantic love-interest couple on that medical drama in the 90s. Gibbs struggles to take her authority seriously seeing her more as an agent than a politician but Jenny stands her ground and over time earns his respect as his commander but not without plenty of passionate flirtation and conflict between them at the same time. Ziva David is truly a fish-out-of-water at NCIS eventually earning a spot as a liaison on Gibbs’s team after killing her own half-brother Ari for Gibbs in order to save his life and avenge Kate’s death. A father-daughter dynamic is forged between them and an immediate chemistry is struck between her and Tony, the two beginning a very slow-burn romantic will-they-won’t they relationship in the vein of Sam & Diane on Cheers and the like. 

 

 

Great and pivotal iconic moments play out in the third season such as Gibbs going up against the viscious serial killer Kyle Boone who has a history going back with him 10 years during the early years of Gibbs and Ducky’s friendship, Tony & Ziva going undercover as lovers, and Gibbs being sent into a coma following an explosion on a ship. That last one upends the world of NCIS both for the team and the audience as backstory about Gibbs is revealed that he had kept well hidden following Gibbs losing the last 15 years of his memories as a result of the blast with his last memory being that of his dead wife and daughter. More specifically the wife and daughter he never told anyone he had. Everyone knew Gibbs had been divorced three times but he had been married once before that to a redhead named Shannon and had a daughter named Kelly who are revealed to have been killed by a drug dealer. Gibbs of course sought vengeance, a decision which would serve to come back to haunt him years and decades later. This epic storyline brought in Mike Franks, Gibbs’s old NCIS boss into the fold after 10 years of retirement in Mexico leading to some great character scenes as we get to see the relationship between the man who made Gibbs the man he is today and the broken-down widower who has no memory of the last 15 years of his life come full circle. Of course in suspenseful cliffhanger style, Gibbs retired from NCIS in the season 3 finale with season 4 finding Gibbs retired in Mexico with Franks as Tony takes on the reins of team leader at NCIS. Tony models himself after Gibbs’s leadership style to a certain degree but isn’t afraid to embrace his own style as he takes command and responsibility in a way he certainly hadn’t before and when Gibbs eventually does take his job back after “one last case” that brought Gibbs out of retirement after another Tony feels slided at his opportunity to lead his own team having been demoted back to senior field agent. However, when Jenny offers him the chance to relocate and lead his own team abroad he turns her down, deciding to take the slower route instead and enjoy his NCIS family. 

 

 

What follows is a rollercoaster of events as Tony is assigned a long-term undercover assignment to get close to a arms dealer’s daughter Dr. Jeanne Benoit (Scottie Thompson) who he falls in love with which ultimately tests and evolves the character of Anthony Dinozzo progressing him from boyish ladies man to a responsible and self-sacrificing individual ready to pursue the idea of marriage but all that comes to a head when her father comes into the picture, The Frog who is mortal enemies with the Director of NCIS. Tony’s real identity brings an abrupt ending to his relationship with Jeanne, the aftermath of which has long-term consequences for him. Moving forward Tony continues to fall for Ziva over the many seasons the two shared the screen sparring back and forth with each other. The NCIS saga over these seasons captured a lot of high suspense moments and worked in plenty of cliffhangers with the furthering of dramatic storylines and rich character development for all the characters in the ensemble. Gibbs got close to the idea of marriage again with Army Lieutenant Colonel Hollis Mann (Susanna Thompson) but his deeply conflicting emotional wound as a result of the tragic loss of his family keeps him from getting too close to anyone including Mann and his other intriguing girlfriends over the years including the vivacious lawyer Margaret Allison Hart (Rena Sofer), and the sharp-witted Dr. Samantha Ryan (Jamie Lee Curtis). 

 

 

Things really escalated though at the end of season 10 of NCIS when Tony & Ziva had gotten closer than ever to a romantic relationship after years of will they/won’t they between them and a witch hunt against Gibbs brought Admiral A.J. Chegwidden (John M. Jackson) from JAG into the fold to defend Gibbs as his team stood by his side. Unfortunately though following the shocking season 10 finale with Gibbs’s team disbanded and his best friend's life Fornell in seeming jeopardy Cote de Pablo decided to exit the series without much notice. Reportedly CBS tried to negotiate her return but the actress wasn’t happy with how the character was being written and wanted to spend more time with her family and friends. However, she did agree to come back for one more episode in the second episode of season 11 to close out her time on the series. Tony & Ziva said their sorrowful goodbyes after finally getting together but alas they were on separate paths with Tony venturing back to NCIS and Ziva remaining in Israel. 

 

 

NCIS Seasons 11-13: Bishop’s Origin Story & Tony’s Swan Song 

The sudden and unexpected cast departure of Cote de Pablo left the creatives behind the scenes at NCIS at a loss as to how to fill the void. So they took their time to find a suitable replacement for the character and in November of that season they introduced Eleanor Bishop in “Gut Check.” Played by Emily Wickersham Bishop was introduced as a foxy and charismatic NSA analyst who also happened to be married which nixed any possibility of Tony swapping Ziva out for her. At first, joining NCIS as a liaison Bishop brought a whole new dynamic to the group as a sort of female Jack Ryan who would often solve analytical puzzles on the floor rather than use her desk and whose optimism and enthusiasm for her job brought a new energy to the series in the absence of Cote de Pablo. For a long time I’ve suspected that they’ve been setting her up to be Gibbs’s successor from the beginning and while that might not be the case anymore she truly is Gibbs’s protege who persevered through dark times in her early years on the show with her messy divorce to fellow NSA analyst Jake Bishop, the death of a translator boyfriend she endured and in which following she enacted vengeance for in cold-blooded murder and so forth. The Bishop character is certainly one of my favorite characters on the show with Emily Wickersham rendering an impeccable performance with such class and style and beauty as well as an intense amount of depth and fortitude. 

 

 

The twelfth and thirteenth seasons of NCIS put Gibbs through the wringer for sure as he suffers the loss of one of his ex-wives at the hands of Ari’s half-brother and he gets shot twice by an adversary he would never want to face: a child. Season 13 explores the aftermath of that tragic storyline with Gibbs recovering from the trauma and gaining counsel and a new best friend in the form of the doctor who saved his life: Dr. Cyril Taft played by none other than Jon Cryer. Completely different from his Two and a Half Men character Cryer transforms and comes to life as an extremely likable and down-to-earth eccentric trauma surgeon who can relate to Gibbs on more than one level. His friendship with Gibbs leads Gibbs to reluctantly accepting the counsel of a psychologist who is a good friend to Taft himself Dr. Grace (Lauren San Giacomo). The milestone-breaking 300th episode of NCIS in addition to being a fantastic patriotic episode honoring vets also progressed Gibbs’s character in allowing him to start to make slow progress in moving on from the trauma of his wife and daughter’s death as he sleeps in his own bed again for the first time since then. 

 

 

Tony’s arc on the series following Ziva’s exit mostly left him with an empty void to fill as he pursued a long-term relationship with his ex-Baltimore cop girlfriend but of course not even that lasted and in the final days of his time on NCIS Tony got to close the book on his relationship with Jeanne Benoit reflecting that if he could have gone back and done things differently he would have and in the episode “Charade” after having his identity stolen multiple times he realizes he really doesn’t have a life or one that is going anywhere still being Gibbs’s No. 2 man. In the season 13 finale, Tony departed NCIS after Ziva was supposedly killed from an attack by dirty CIA Agent Trent Kort and Ziva and Tony’s daughter who he never knew about is sent to live with him. He decides that taking over Gibbs’s job one day and putting his life in jeopardy with a daughter waiting at home for him isn’t worth it and it's time to start the next chapter of his life. Micheal Weatherly of course made the move to playing Dr. Jason Bull on Bull, a series that is going into its 6th season this fall and the potential is of course still there for Weatherly to return as his iconic NCIS character one of these days sooner or later with him evening hinting as much on multiple occasions. 

 

 

NCIS Seasons 14-18: The Torres & Bishop Years 

Tony’s departure from the series brought a sea of changes to show as his shoes were big ones to fill and thus multiple new cast members were brought onboard with Wilmer Valderma as undercover NCIS Special Agent Nick Torres and Jennifer Esposito as an agent turned FLETC instructor Alex Quinn. Duane Henry even recurred as M16 officer Clayton Reeves and with a jam-packed new ensemble, the show really began anew telling more episodic stories but also not forgetting its serialized character arcs evolving Gibbs, McGee, Ducky, Palmer, and Abby in a continuing manner. McGee finally married his DOD analyst girlfriend Delilah and started a family with her while Ducky cut back to part-time status at NCIS in order to author a book and Palmer took on the responsibilities of chief medical examiner to incredible results showing his arc from green clumsy assistant to competent and seasoned medical examiner. Abby, unfortunately, left the series due to the actress Pauley Perrette’s falling out with Mark Harmon and in her stead Diona Reasonover came in as Casey the new forensic scientist at NCIS. 

More new blood continued to flow into the show with the addition of Mario Bello (Touch) as Dr. Jack Sloane, a forensic psychologist who aids the team in solving crimes and served as a romantic foil and love interest to Gibbs over her 3 and half seasons on the show. Their will they/won’t they dynamic was quite interesting since she worked for Vance and wasn’t under Gibbs’s rule and their relationship mirrored the will they/won’t they storyline going on with Bishop and Torres at the same time. Bishop is a complicated individual having evolved from NSA Analyst to veteran NCIS Special Agent whos gone through a divorce and lost a love she had to avenge so for her to pursue a relationship with Torres who is equally complicated in dealing with his undercover past is certainly no clear-cut story as plenty of twists and turns in their romance have had to be traversed in order for them to come to that point together. Torres is a lovable narcissist and Bishop a cold and complicated yet incredibly playful and witty blonde with long flowing hair is a high-octane sizzle of chemistry and flirtation between the two which has sustained the screen for the last 5 years which ultimately came to its culmination in the season 18 finale with Bishop’s surprise exit from the series. At the time it sounded like Emily Wickersham was leaving NCIS after 8 seasons to pursue other projects but she has since revealed she is pregnant so whether she returns afterwards even on a limited basis remains to be seen but the conclusion of her arc on the show is a powerful and impactful one for sure and paves the way for more stories to come down the road with her character in the future. 

 

 

NCIS Season 19: Mark Harmon’s Future/ The Addition of Katrina Law and Gary Cole

Season 19 debuts on September 20th on CBS and marks new territory for the series in the absence of Emily Wickersham and with this being the first season that Mark Harmon will appear on the show in a more limited basis. Gibbs’s continual complicated character progression escalated midway into season 18 as following a brutal attack on a dog-beater Gibbs was suspended from NCIS and failing to apologize for the incident due to pure stubbornness and the need to self-torture himself Gibbs has remained on the outside from NCIS and only brought back into the world of hunting down criminals by investigative journalist Marcie Warren (Pam Dawber) which concluded in Gibbs looking into a mysterious serial killer that rigs the boat Gibbs has spent the last 5 years building in his basement to blow as Gibbs takes it out on the river leaving Gibbs to do the dead man float. Mark Harmon will be back and Gibbs will reunite with his team at some point in the first few episodes of the season but what's next for the Gibbs character after that is anyone's guess. Due to Mark Harmon’s desire to take on a more limited role on the show moving forward it's probably safe to assume Gibbs won’t be returning to work at NCIS but may instead take on more of a consultatory role or even pursue a new line of work like Fornell did when he was fired from the FBI and became a private eye. Regardless I think this affords the writers and Mark Harmon to explore the character of Gibbs beyond the boundaries of the orange halls of NCIS and to finally start addressing the questions of whether Gibbs will start a new family or not in the future in moving on from the tragic loss of his family 30 years prior. 

 

 

Bishop and Torres are no more sadly as Bishop resigned from NCIS following her elaborate set-up on herself to plant evidence implicating herself as a traitor so she could go on a deep-cover assignment for the CIA requiring that she be labeled a disgraced NCIS agent in beginning her career as a secret agent. This of course is also in progression of the legendary story arc in season 17 in which Ziva literally returned from the grave and passed the torch to Bishop in becoming a powerhouse ninja-assassin NCIS agent with Odette Ziva's secret contact left in place to train her. However, with Wickerhsm’s departure, the writers have taken this narrative even further and progressed Bishop into a formidable secret agent leaving behind NCIS in a shocking and epic fashion. I had always hoped that Bishop would take over for Gibbs when he left NCIS but if that can’t happen because Wickersham wants to be a mother and pursue other projects beyond NCIS that is fine and her arc of her evolving from Jack Ryan-esque NSA Analyst to NCIS Special Agent to a force of nature as a secret agent operating out in the most dangerous corners of the world is a spectacular one to say the least and it also mirrors Gibbs's own arc in transforming himself outside the context of NCIS.

 

 

So the question then becomes what will NCIS season 19 be about? Well, episodic storytelling is always a good and reliable route with suspenseful murder mysteries infused with brilliant humor but the seralized elements of NCIS will for sure move on even in subtle ways from episode to episode as the writers have proven over the years they are masters at slow-burn storytelling. Gary Cole and Katrina Law have been added to the ensemble with Katrina Law having debuted at the end of season 18 as NCIS Special Agent Jessica Knight of the REACT team storming onto the scene with an undeniable sense of charm and wit as well as great chemistry with the cast of NCIS. She is an unstoppable force who may be even more of a wildcard than Torres and is not afraid to contend with Vance and gives Torres a good run for his money. Gary Cole will be a great addition to the ensemble as he comes onboard to play FBI Special Agent Alden Park. Gary Cole has had an extensive career including roles in Disney’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas and as Sarah Walker’s conman father on Chuck so it's easy to see how his comic timing and natural charm will fit in well with the NCIS ensemble. Showrunner Steven D. Binder had the following to say about how Park will shake things up in season 19:

“He won’t take Gibbs’ place, but he’ll compel our attention. Teases Binder: “He’s going to cross lines that will make you both love and hate him.”

 

 

 In Gibbs’s absence, McGee will be the team leader and Torres will serve as his right-hand man and senior field agent and based off the buddy-cop dynamic established between them since season 14 that seems like it will be a strong dynamic and potentially lethal combination for storytelling onscreen. Wilmer Valderma has talked about in the past how the writers are working to make his character become more and more dangerous so it will be interesting to see that more fully explored in this season with him as the senior field agent. The departure of Bishop will set him back romantically for sure but I think there's plenty of potential for NCIS to take inspiration from older shows like Magnum PI and give Torres the ladies man treatment he deserves onscreen in seeing him teaming up with various love interests in different episodic cases in the seasons moving forward. Of course, this doesn’t mean he will forget Bishop anytime soon and its quite possible she could turn up for a 3-episode arc or so sooner than any of us anticipate such as midway through the season but who knows how short or far off that could be but regardless the NCIS universe is thriving with possibilities right now for world-building. 

 

 

I hope Mark Harmon remains on the show for at least 8 episodes a year which would allow him to show up in at least one episode a month in hopefully a substantial role to further his character and story moving forward. If the writers are writing towards a happy ending for his character with him setting off to take sail around the world on a new boat he builds I think Mario Bello’s character while a clear candidate to be the woman he ends up with shouldn’t be the one he ends up with but rather it be should Colonel Mann from seasons 4 and 5 of NCIS who also reappeared for a couple of episodes in seasons 11 and 12. The two got so close to a substantial future together till she realized Gibbs had these walls built up around him he was never going to tear down so she left him before things were too late and she ended up another one of his ex-wives. But Gibbs has made a lot of progress as a character and even though he has a long way to go with all the recent trauma he has been through with losing his niece and gunning down McGee he still could have a marriage that works beyond his divorces and it should be Lieutenant Colonel Mann. Gibbs has always surrounded himself with bad guys to hunt down and boats in his basement to build but take him out of NCIS and away from his basement Gibbs has the potential to change and grow into a person with a whole new adventure to set out on and Mann seems like the perfect match for him there with her strong-willed gracious opposite demeanor to his steely resolve which was captured perfectly in a quote from one of her early episodes in which Gibbs quoted his rule about never saying you’re sorry because it’s a sign of weakness to which she responds, “Funny, I thought it was a sign of strength.”

 

 

 Showrunner Steven D. Binder had the following to say about Gibbs’s arc going into season 19 following Gibbs getting blown up on his boat last season:

“It’s not clear what state he’s in,” NCIS exec producer Steven D. Binder says. But “when you blow up a man’s boat that he’s handcrafted in his basement for the past half decade, you’ve opened up a serious can of whoop-ass.” 

Even if he were to go back to his former life at NCIS, his deeper issues don’t just go away,” Binder says. “And if he officially moves on, what happens to a guy like Gibbs without the job? We know his heart is pure, but Gibbs has been a troubled soul for a long time.”

 

 

And finally, with the epic return of Ziva in season 17 of NCIS which led to Bishop becoming a powerhouse secret agent, the question has remained: when will Tony and Ziva reunite onscreen? In reality, we know Micheal Weatherly is busy filming Bull and COVID put a dent in any plans they may have had to have two reunite at the end of season 17 but Micheal has hinted plenty he is eager to return to the role so I would expect if not this season that within the next couple seasons we will see Tony and Ziva reunite. Many believed that the couple reunited offscreen with Ziva sending a video message back to the team of her in Paris with Tony and her daughter but I think this was a deception as the writers talked about how they desired to see a full-throttle reunion between the two onscreen just as much as the audience so when they finally do return to NCIS I expect to either see a flashback sequence showcasing this or a storyline revealing to us that Tony and Ziva for some bizarre reason never did reunite despite what Ziva tells the team but the arc of episodes of would finally bring the two back together in a truly epic and legendary fashion bringing full circle the past of NCIS with its past, present, and future to come. 

 

 

 

So in conclusion a lot of excitement is in store for NCIS moving forward as season 19 is the beginning of a new era but that doesn’t mean the series will forget the first 18 years of its history nor will it be afraid to tell new stories and continue to build onto its universe. Jack Burton from Chuck mixing it up with the eccentric NCIS cast, Katrina Law from Arrow stepping in as an incredibly beautiful and lethal loose cannon wild card, and Gibbs going rogue alone paints a highly tense and surreal picture in my head of the adventurous, and suspenseful comedic thriller mystery storylines to come in NCIS Season 19. And let's not forget NCIS is acting as the lead-in for its next spin-off NCIS: Hawaii which featuring the first NCIS female lead looks like it may be the best of both worlds of NCIS and Magnum PI. So there's a lot to look forward to for sure this fall in all things regarding NCIS so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more articles by me on NCIS as the season progresses.