CBS's Attempt To Replace Ziva Isn't Helping NCIS Move Forward
Cher Thompson is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, where she covers everything from explosive reality TV moments to cast interviews about the twists and turns of scripted dramas. With a background in creative writing, marketing, and teaching, Cher knows how to spot both the storytelling genius and the guilty pleasures in pop culture. Her work blends wit with insight, making readers feel like they’re chatting with a friend who just happens to know way too much about TV.
NCIS season 24 bringing back Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) without Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) has been tough to watch, and the series trying their best to replace her without erasing her character hasn’t been working. With Weatherly’s return as DiNozzo marking a new era for the series, NCIS has been doing its best to ensure that Ziva is mentioned as much as possible. After NCIS: Tony & Ziva’s short but mighty run on Paramount+ saw the characters finally settle into a long-term relationship after years of will they/won’t they struggle, Tony’s return to the flagship series came as a major surprise.
While Tony and Ziva’s relationship status hasn’t changed, DiNozzo’s decision to take on the role of NCIS Director has brought their family into a whole new space. With Tony and Ziva’s daughter, Tali, choosing to go to boarding school in Boston, Massachusetts, and Ziva deciding to stay nearby after their ordeal during the Paramount+ spinoff, they’re currently physically separated, with DiNozzo being the only member of the larger family on screen. After doing so much with Tony and Ziva during the spinoff, not seeing them together during NCIS season 24 hasn’t been easy, and the show realizes the challenge of keeping them separated.
Throughout the most recent episodes of NCIS season 24, the series has made it clear that they’re trying to keep viewers up to date about Ziva and Tali, but the difficulty in bringing that information to light has been showing through the cracks. Unfortunately, by trying to keep Ziva in the mix, the series is struggling to move forward.
NCIS Season 24 Is Using Knight As A Ziva Proxy
<<img src="https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/knight-in-ncis.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" />
CBS</figure>
Throughout the first episodes of NCIS season 24, it’s been clear that the series is hoping that by updating viewers about Ziva, she won’t be missed as consistently. After finally getting the chance to see Ziva back with Tony and in a different phase of their lives during NCIS: Tony & Ziva, viewers getting one back without the other hasn’t felt like the same level of reunion. While seeing Tony take over as the NCIS director has been exciting, the lack of Ziva has been difficult to overcome, and Tony using Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) as a proxy in many ways hasn’t helped.
From Ziva asking Knight to keep Tony away from too much sugar, which was quite cute in the early episodes of the season, to Tony asking Knight for advice about what to do about Tali pulling away from him, the position Knight’s been put in hasn’t been pretty. Rather than having her own relationship with Tony, Knight has been tasked with looping viewers in on how things are going with Ziva, which also makes their scenes feel unnecessarily bloated. While Knight has been there to hear Tony out in a way that feels kind-hearted, NCIS hasn’t been doing the dynamic any favors.
NCIS Needs To Let Go Of Its Frequent Ziva Updates To Move Forward
<<img src="https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/3244275_ncis_s24_0506b.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" />
CBS</figure>
Although viewers are always going to be curious about Ziva, Tali, and their connection to Tony, without either of the women on the show, it’s not possible to keep viewers in the loop so consistently. While some updates about Ziva and Tali work, the fact that Tony has a whole separate part of his life to account for doesn’t necessarily mean that they need to dominate his story. As the series forges ahead, NCIS should take into account that if Ziva isn’t returning to the series any time soon, they don’t need to keep viewers in the loop about her or Tali so consistently.
Despite there being a need for NCIS to update viewers about Ziva and Tali, bringing them into the mix so consistently doesn’t feel like the right move. While having Tony talk about Ziva and Tali in order to update the audience about where they are and what they do makes sense, having them take over parts of his storyline doesn’t feel like the right way to honor Ziva’s character. It would be great to see de Pablo return, but NCIS has to move forward with Tony in the story, leaving Ziva behind in some ways, to keep itself balanced.
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.