NCIS Season 24’s Major Absence Is Getting Even More Noticeable
With NCIS venturing into a new season with familiar faces returning to the long-running CBS series, the show’s most noticeable absence is growing sharper with each passing week. With Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) returning to NCIS season 24 for the first time in a real capacity since the show’s 13th season, the characters who haven’t been back to visit the MCRT in some way have been more top of mind than ever. While Tony is returning to the series in a different capacity, currently serving as the NCIS director, others have come back to the MCRT in the past in other roles.
Most recently, Emily Wickersham returned to NCIS during the previous season as Ellie Bishop after years away and an undercover operation gone awry. Prior to that, viewers got the chance to catch up with Tony and his ever-complicated partner Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) during the tragically short-lived NCIS’ Paramount+ streaming spinoff, NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Ziva’s last appearance within the franchise prior to the spinoff had been a stint in NCIS season 17, which brought her character out of hiding and back into the fold with Tony and their daughter, Tali. Other NCIS characters have left without revisiting the franchise, but their tethers back to it aren’t as strong.
While viewers knew that Tony was returning to NCIS this season, it wasn’t clear what kind of baggage he’d bring from his relationship with Ziva, or their shared life in Paris. Though there have been details peppered throughout the first episodes, Ziva’s lack of presence in NCIS season 24 has been consistently more noticeable with each passing scene.
NCIS Season 24 May Not Feature Ziva David, But She’s Still Present
While Ziva was a core piece of the streaming spinoff that ultimately left her and Tony in a far more secure place in their relationship, when it was announced that Weatherly would be returning to the flagship series, de Pablo was confirmed not to be back alongside him. Ziva’s lack of appearance on NCIS season 24 was quickly questioned by viewers who were concerned that the flagship series would try to retcon the story of the spinoff, erasing details of the hard-fought series that finally got Tony and Ziva together. Thankfully, NCIS nipped those worries in the bud quickly, keeping Ziva present without her presence.
