NCIS: The Tony And Ziva Spin-Off Series Will Answer A Big Question About Tali
Contains spoilers for "NCIS: Tony and Ziva"
While there's no doubt that Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) suffered greatly during the 10-year-long period where Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) was presumed to be dead, it turns out that one person seems to have suffered the most from her absence — Tali, their daughter, whom Tony raises alone for years while Ziva is out of the picture. That's just one strange detail about the Tony and Ziva romance, and it looks like this new show will probe that weirdness.
Fans already knew that the thus-far-uncast Tali would be a big part of "NCIS: Tony & Ziva." But it looks like a large part of the show's storyline will revolve around her. According to de Pablo and Weatherly, the upcoming spin-off will be all about the importance of trust, and how Tony and Ziva need to reestablish it between themselves and their child. "We're trying to address the idea of trust and we're trying to address how they move forward parenting together with this child and trying to make things work and having a lot of challenges thrown at them," de Pablo said at a press event Monte-Carlo Television Festival, as quoted by Variety.
Added Weatherly, "When you think about Tali, who is really the third character in 'Tony & Ziva,' the idea for her to think that her mother was dead, and then her mother is alive, but was running around the world and didn't come home to protect her ... Trust doesn't mean truth, doesn't mean honesty." Even worse, the reappearance of Ziva in the small family's life may have opened up some trust issues between Tony and his daughter.
Trust isues between Tali and Tony may arise
Michael Weatherly says "NCIS: Tony and Ziva" may explore rising trust issues between Tony and Tali. "You have a daughter who's going to question the story. 'No dad – you told me she was dead, and she just walked through the door.' 'Yeah, but your mom had reasons ...' 'No, no, no. The facts are the facts," he said.
Naturally, Tali has a right to be upset since her mother reenters her life after years away and then the family moves to Paris so the grown-ups can pursue private security work. Those dynamics remain to be seen by fans since Tali was very young when Tony and Ziva left "NCIS."
While Tali and Tony's relationship might be slightly at loose ends, Weatherly's professional union with de Pablo continues to run smoothly, despite a rough start during her audition that left her thinking he'd sabotaged her chances on purpose. "You know what I've always said about working with Michael is it's always refreshingly unpredictable. [..] Even though sometimes I come across as very, sort of, put together, my favorite thing is to go into kid land and play. I think we relate on that level. We are both, at our core, kids. [...] I respect the boundaries and the structure of that. He has a tougher time with the structure and the boundaries. But at the end of the day, we both like to play," de Pablo said at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
Fans will find out how much has changed and what's stayed the same when "NCIS: Tony & Ziva" debuts on Paramount+ sometime during the 2024-2025 season.