‘NCIS’ season 12 spoilers: Romance and a new direction for Michael Weatherly’s Tony
Ready for some more polarizing “NCIS” news? Well, we’re here to talk once again about the prospective new love interest for Michael Weatherly’s Tony.
Speaking to TVLine, showrunner Gary Glasberg promises that there is will be a “completely different” dynamic that exists between him and this new character versus with Cote de Pablo’s Ziva. He does also admit that finding the right person for the role is going to be a very difficult thing to do:
“The trick will be casting somebody where the chemistry [with Michael] is there, but we’re excited about the opportunity … We’ll give it a shot and see what we can do.”
We’re going to give whoever this new character is a chance, much in the way that we gave Bishop a chance and we’ll continue to for a while now that the writers have had a full summer thinking about her. The funny thing about last year, though, was that there was an excellent new character created without all the fanfare, and we wish that she was getting more time in the limelight: Delilah. We wish that she was sticking around or playing a larger role in the McGee story.
The one thing that Glasberg seems to especially have right is the notion that the character has to be different than Ziva; otherwise, it’ll feel like regurgitation and this new person will never have an opportunity to shine on her own.
Anyway, look for this story to develop fully a few episodes into the season, given that the recent casting news of a younger Ducky is supposedly for the third episode. This character will probably surface after that.
As always, let us know whether you’re interested or bored by this prospective story, and head over here for some further insight into everything via our CarterMatt Newsletter.
Photo: CBS
liz laughlin
August 11, 2014 @ 6:42 pm
NCIS needs a leading lady. Ellie Bishop is not in that category. When Donald P. Bellisario wrote the character Ziva David, he was at the top of his game– creating great characters. He then hit the jackpot casting Cote de Pablo to play Ziva. Without Ziva, the show will be okay, provided Glasberg makes the right decisions but, it will never be the great show that it once was with Ziva. Most people will continue to watch because, that is what they do. Some of us will not watch because we don’t think that NCIS needed to lose Cote de Pablo in the first place. It was a business decision on the part of both parties. If creativity and entertainment value were number one, Cote de Pablo would still be there and the show would continue to be great and the 2 million viewers that stopped watching at the end of season 11 would still be there. (Season 10 last 10 episodes averaged 19 million viewers, season 11 last 10 episodes averaged 17.1 million.viewers) I for one am not interested in Ellie Bishop’s husband or another one of Gibbs’s wives. Bellisario created the show as “the team as family” and with the way GG handled the departure of Ziva, the family dynamic is gone and so am I.
jullica
August 11, 2014 @ 12:55 am
I think you should consider casting Erica Durance. I think she could could be great opposite Michael Weatherly. I hope Jaime Lee Curtis gets to come back on this show as well.
marysue
August 7, 2014 @ 9:20 pm
Whomever they cast as the supposed love interest for Tony is going to find the role a real challenge especially if it turns out to be a regular reoccurring role. It will be tough to find someone that can match or beat the chemistry that Cote had with Michael. That was something very unique. There will be comparisons by upset fans. While I’m not happy about the fact that Cote left last season, we have to face the fact that she has chosen to move on ( proven by her doing “The 33” and now the upcoming miniseries “The Dovekeepers”) and the show must too. That means the characters move on as well. We all have a choice. If you like the show watch, if not, watch something else. I just hope that now that the writers have had a full summer to work without the loss of another cast member, the storylines will be a bit more stable. We don’t know what exactly is coming down the pipe. NCIS has a history of surprising fans so I for one will give this season a shot and see what new direction it takes. That being said they do have to do something about Bishop. Give her some funny punch lines with Tony or something. I do hope we see her character developed a bit more so we can make a fairer assessment of the character.
As for Ziva’s character and mindset…all I can say is that Sigmund Freud would have had a field day analyzing her.
Naomi
August 7, 2014 @ 5:33 pm
so in other words the show is going downhill & GG is simply helping dig its grave faster. the writers having the summer to “think” about Bishop’s character will not improve the lack of talent & lack of chemistry that exists with EW.
Donna2712
August 6, 2014 @ 11:39 pm
Obviously there has been a Twitter call to arms to abuse Gary G and keep Tony as a lonely pathetic man who pines away for a woman who basically said no to his love. Between this and TVLine the same rhetoric is being screamed almost word for word. Wish these last dozen die hards would just give up already.
Erin
August 7, 2014 @ 12:57 am
These Ziva/tiva fans are simply not fans of Tony. They worshipped and seemed to live vicariously at the altar of a Mary Sue character who had a marginally talented but very pretty portrayer. They would without a doubt prefer that Tony cry at his desk week after week, or better still, magically conjure Ziva out of thin air. The reality of the fact that Cote de Pablo quit is sadly something their little fantasy worlds won’t allow in. They have all kinds of unsubstantiated rantings of her being abused by the wicked GG and MH. I’ve even heard it suggested that MH should have given her some of his compensation and that MW should have quit his job to show his support. Their little world seems so angrily centered around this fictional character that the reality that these are real people with lives, loves, and ambitions of their own is simply irrelevant.
Lisa Liscoumb
August 7, 2014 @ 2:33 pm
Ah yes, and don’t forget the “MH sacrificed CdP so he could get NCIS NOLA made” or the ever-popular “he stabbed her in the back” theory.
liz laughlin
August 12, 2014 @ 3:22 pm
Cote did not just up and quit at the last minute. She negotiated for months. There was no reason to do that if she was not planning to return. Something went bad during negotiations. This is not the first time CBS has dumped actors to save money. They have a long history of it. Ziva was one of Bellisario’s most brilliant characters. In fact her name means “brilliant” in Hebrew. I think that CBS is hoping they can fix this problem but Glasberg is just not up to it. He came up with the lame character, Ellie Bishop.They should get him some help. Too bad that Bellisario is not in any shape to help him. Maybe .Shane Brennan, Jesse Stern or Nicole Mirante-Mathews. Get some help somewhere pulleeeeze!.
Lisa Liscoumb
August 7, 2014 @ 2:32 pm
Don’t forget the hate on for Mark Harmon/Gibbs as well. Apparently the Cause has decided he’s to blame for CdP leaving too.
Dido Twite
August 6, 2014 @ 8:14 pm
I’m sorry but there’s nothing they can do to fix Bishop. It’s way too late for that. She’s an insipid, incompetent character who never should have been forced onto the team, and no amount of offscreen training is going to transform her into a believeable agent.
As for Tony, it’s just not possible for them to find an actress with the kind of chemistry that set the screen on fire with Ziva.
bbicecream
August 6, 2014 @ 7:55 pm
I’m not interested in this story line at all. Glasberg’s female characters are all terrible with the lone exception of Delilah. Bishop used up any good will I had for Glasberg’s ideas.
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 6, 2014 @ 6:40 pm
Tony needs someone who loves, trusts and values him as a lover and a person. Not someone who treats him like dirt for years and walks all over his feelings. (Never pulling a gun on him would be a plus)
Lynn Baker
August 6, 2014 @ 5:57 pm
It seems as though GG is going senile & has lost any creativity he might have had, & needs to retire/get fired! He obviously (from EW/bishop) can’t cast a good character-just look at the long list of failed, dismal characters of GG! But if he thinks viewers will accept another woman as ‘Tony’s love interest’ after 8 years with Ziva, where ‘TIVA’ was lightning hot for years, especially season 10; he’d better check into the loony bin now! It won’t happen, & NCIS will sink further into the depths of dispair! They will also lose MILLIONS MORE VIEWERS that have been hanging on, waiting for ‘Ziva’s’ record rating breaker return, or at least for some improvement! To get neither will probably result in the once-great show’s demise after an even more boring season 12.