Ziva (Cote de Pablo) is finally gone and whether fans or Gibbs (Mark Harmon) team likes it, they will have to move on. It’s a safe bet that the person who will be most affected by this is Tony (Michael Weatherly). There may be some fans looking for DiNozzo to get back on the horse after this devastating loss. However, according to showrunner and executive producer Gary Glasberg, fans shouldn’t hold their breath.
“Is there anything that's going to happen in the immediate future? Absolutely not,” Glasberg said in an interview with TVGuide.com. “Tony just went through a lot, and has a lot to think about, and then we'll be getting right back to work.”
Glasberg also said that having Tony date right away would not be the most authentic storyline.
“We're really trying to handle this as realistically and organically as we can, and in the real world, it takes time to recover,” he explained.
While I’m still not sure how I feel about the ending of Ziva’s storyline, it’s time for us fans to move on to a few new characters—especially Eleanor Bishop (Emily Wickersham) who according to Glasberg won’t be coming to the show until November. The EP mentioned that prior to her arrival, there will be a bunch of fill ins-including—a veteran agent whose about to retire played by Roma Maffia, McGee’s Department of Defense girlfriend Delilah (Margo Harshman) and Agent Borin from the Coast Guard (Diane Neal). While none of these will be a permanent replacement for Ziva, they each will step up to help Gibbs’ team.
In a separate interview with TVLine, Glasberg described Bishop as “bright, educated, athletic, attractive, fresh-faced, focused and somewhat socially awkward. She has a mysterious mixture of analytic brilliance, fierce determination and idealism.”
“She’s traveled extensively, but only feels comfortable at home,” he added.
Ziva will always have a place with fans. Let’s hope that Bishop can find her own place in fans' hearts.
“NCIS” airs Tuesday at 8/7c on CBS.
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