NCIS season 17: Cote de Pablo on reason behind Ziva’s return (video)
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As you may know at this point, Cote recently embarked on a lengthy press tour in order to promote her upcoming appearances — it’s a part of the promotional effort that CBS is making to get the show the best ratings possible. They want to find a way to make that happen, and for NCIS to be as huge of a hit that it once was. (It’s still a big hit for CBS mind you — just not what it once was).
In the video below with a Washington CBS affiliate, Cote goes through more of what led to her appearance, including her relationship with writer Gina Lucita Monreal — this is a relationship that seemed to be vital to the entire return plot. They came up with some exciting ideas, the showrunners got together, and now the rest is (close to) history. Over the next few weeks, we’ll see how the Ziva story comes together — plus, how it impacts the story of the show long-term.
Within this interview, Cote also goes into finding the right circumstances for Ziva to come back — something that was so much easier said than done. She notes that Tony isn’t there anymore, so that motivation isn’t present. Meanwhile, the same goes for Tali — she’s with Tony, and it’s hard to focus on Ziva’s daughter without having Michael Weatherly’s character around. It’s still possible Tony turns up at some point this season, but it doesn’t seem to be happening within the first couple of episodes … pending a big surprise. There are a couple more episodes to come later this season beyond episode 1 (“Out of the Darkness”) and 2 (“Into the Light”), so everything doesn’t need to be crammed in right away without giving all of her different storylines their proper due.
In the end, the idea that came together was Ziva helping Gibbs — they have a strong relationship that would justify her coming out of hiding to help him.
Related News – Check out a new extended interview featuring Cote talking about the series
What do you want to see from Cote de Pablo on NCIS season 17?
Be sure to share right now in the comments, and remember to stick around to get some other information on the series. (Photo: CBS.)
This article was written by Jessica Carter. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.