NCIS fans can officially start counting down the days until the franchise’s return on Tuesday nights. Less than one week remains until the procedural crime dramas get back in action as part of CBS premiere week, and this year, there is much to look forward to. On a grander scale, a new branch of the agency is set to open up in NCIS: New York, with LL COOL J‘s Sam Hanna returning alongside a new team and a “roguish” new partner played by Scott Caan. The return of franchise legends comes in threes, though. Longtime flagship lead Mark Harmon is locked in for a season-long arc on Season 3 of the prequel series NCIS: Origins, while the Major Crimes Response Team officially welcomes back Tony DiNozzo himself, Michael Weatherly, following the cancellation of his spin-off, NCIS: Tony & Ziva.
Tony’s arrival back in Washington, D.C. is particularly intriguing for a number of reasons. For one, it’s been over ten years since Weatherly left NCIS behind in the Season 13 finale, and the team has changed a lot since, even if some of his old colleagues are still around. It’s also his first appearance since the end of Tony & Ziva, which saw him and Cote de Pablo‘s agents reckoning with their relationship and ultimately choosing their family first. Now that he’s back to establish a new branch of his private security firm, the show has a chance to explore how that ending and his family life in general have changed Tony. From the looks of it, the Season 24 premiere is wasting no time in tapping into his fatherly side.
Ahead of the first episode next week, Collider can share an exclusive sneak peek that reunites one of the series’ best duos — Tony DiNozzo and Special Agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray). They slip right back into their brotherly bond for a tender moment speaking father-to-father. McGee is worried sick after what happened with his son, Matteo (Patrick Keleher), to close out Season 23. Not only did he pretend to apply for an internship to hack into the federal agency’s database, but the finale ended with an unseen gunshot when he was confronted by Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama). However, if anyone knows about kids getting into dangerous trouble, it’s Tony, who commiserates with him about the feeling of constant worry they provide. He gives his old pal a pep talk, expressing confidence that everything will turn out just fine under McGee’s watch. Though he does warn not to get on his daughter Tali’s bad side, given her penchant for blinding mercenaries with toxic gas.
‘NCIS’ Season 24 Unites Tony and the Team Against a New Threat
Tony’s return to NCIS couldn’t come at a better time for his old colleague, given the turmoil McGee’s going through. The Season 24 premiere will revolve around the aftermath of Matteo’s actions as the team processes why McGee’s son would try to compromise the MCRT from the inside. The Special Agent will need all the support he can get while experiencing a parent’s worst nightmare, though he’s not the reason Tony initially swings by. An ominous new threat to the Secretary of the Navy has emerged, and the former NCIS member will join with his old colleagues to get to the source.
NCIS Season 24 premieres on October 6. Check out our exclusive sneak peek in the player above.
