NCIS Season 21 Plot Details Tease Major Timothy McGee & Jessica Knight Storylines

"NCIS" Season 21 is making a huge change in its episode format, with just 10 episodes, instead of the customary 22. Wilmer Valderrama (who plays Nick Torres) has already teased that as a result, the season will take a step toward a binge-watch direction by increasing its focus on serialized storytelling. It remains to be seen just how the show will achieve this — after all, "NCIS" has historically tended to juggle case-of-the-week episodes with its larger plot arcs. It'll also be interesting to see how the various characters will develop during the shorter season. 

According to showrunners Steven D. Binder and David North, at least Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) and Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) should have pretty interesting things in store. The former, it appears, will be part of a surprising family storyline. "All of our characters on 'NCIS' know that family is more important than anything," Binder and North told Matt Webb Mitovich of TV Line. "But after McGee takes a genealogy DNA test, he's shocked to find out he has more family than he realized." Knight will also deal with a family situation, and while it's one with a family member she already knows, it may be no less difficult. "Knight has her own special family drama to deal with when her father shows up during a case and has some ideas what his daughter should be doing with her life," the showrunners revealed. 

Since the people behind the show haven't yet revealed who Timothy McGee's hitherto unknown relative is, the actor playing the character is currently unknown. As it stands, the only unknown factor in his immediate family tree is his mother, who has never been shown or even named in the series. As such, the show may intend to reveal that she's still alive and introduce her onscreen — or perhaps simply bring a new family member into the mix.  

However, Steven D. Binder and David North did reveal that the actor playing Jessica Knight's father is Russell Wong. The actor is a veteran of roles that range from stern Delos board member Brompton on HBO's "Westworld" to the womanizing, watermelon-munching Lin Xiao in the Ying-Ying St. Clair arc of the 1993 drama classic, "The Joy Luck Club." It's unlikely that the part will be more than a guest role, or perhaps a recurring one. Still, with an actor of Wong's caliber on his way to stir the "NCIS" pot, things should get fairly interesting in the Knight household. This is especially the case since Binder and North have teased that Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) will be caught in the Knights' row.