NCIS readies for season without Cote de Pablo
An NCIS without Cote de Pablo? That’s like peanut butter without jelly, ham without cheese, or bingeeating without regret. But that’s the reality fans of the CBS show faced last month when the network announced that headliner Pablo was leaving the series.
Pablo has played Ziva David since Season 3 of the U.S. naval drama, and her last appearances will be in the Season 11, which begins Sept. 24. Ziva, a special agent, has long been a fan favourite — especially for her flirtatious pas de deux with colleague Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly). Since NCIS, a spinoff of
JAG, takes up semi-permanent residence in the weekly Top 5 shows for both Canada and the U.S., CBS’s execs were naturally sad to see Pablo go. And her departure wasn’t for lack of trying.
“We offered Cote de Pablo a lot of money, and then we offered her even more money, because we really didn’t want to lose her,” said the network’s president and CEO, Les Moonves, at the Television Critics Association press tour last week.
“We really didn’t want to lose her. We love her. We think she’s terrific. We obviously were in discussions … and ultimately she decided she didn’t want to do the show. It was her decision. We don’t like losing anybody. We did everything humanly possible [and] exhausted every possibility.”
Not exactly words that will soothe the troubled NCIS fan’s soul, but at least Ziva will get a chance to wrap up her story properly. In an interview with TV Line, showrunner Gary Glasberg explained that Pablo’s sudden departure forced him to rework his plans for Season 11.
“Someone asked me if I was planning for this, but I really wasn’t, so basically the minute that this became real, I had to throw out a lot of what I was planning to do and start from scratch,” he said. “But what came out of it is a really terrific [season-opening] two-parter that I think people are going to be really blown away by.”
And, it turns out that fans of the steamy tension between Tony and Ziva — or Tiva, as the hopeless romantics call them — will get closure. “There’s a really significant Tony-Ziva payoff — everything I hope the Tiva fans have been waiting for,” hinted Glasberg.
Season 10 closed in May in typical NCIS fashion, with a cliffhanger. Tony, Ziva and Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) took the fall for their boss Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and resigned, and after a flash-forward four months, Gibbs aimed a rifle at FBI agent Fornell (Joe Spano) and a gunshot rang out.
Tonight’s episode is a repeat from December, with a shooter targeting Fornell and him joining forces with the NCIS team to investigate. Fans, take what you can get — it’ll be one of the last times you’ll see Ziva in action with the team.
8 p.m., Global, CBS
Three to see • Thoughtful ancestry show Who Do You Think You Are? trains its lenses on comedian Chelsea Handler, who investigates her grandfather’s rumoured Nazi past and finally finds some answers. • In the vein of Storage Wars and American Pickers, Barter Kings debuts. It features Antonio Palazzola and Steve McHugh as they trade items for better items — without any money being exchanged.
8 p.m., TLC
8 p.m., A&E • Twelve acts compete live in New York’s Radio City Music Hall as they vie for a spot in America’s Got Talent’s semifinal round.
9 p.m., City, NBC