NCIS: Tony and Ziva spin-off to start with flashback as Cote de Pablo explains reason

The NCIS stars behind Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David have finally spilled the beans on the timeline for their much-anticipated spin-off, and it’s not exactly what fans expected.

As CBS rolls out NCIS season 22 with its inaugural prequel series NCIS Origins, which retells the origin story of Leroy Gibbs (portrayed by Austin Stowell) as a budding agent, anticipation is bubbling over for even more backstory goodness with the upcoming drama entitled NCIS: Tony and Ziva.

This revelation came to light during MIPCOM panel discussions, where Cote de Pablo expressed: “We haven’t seen these characters since 2013 and I think the fans have always wanted to see what happened between them.

“In our first season, they’re going to get a fix of what has happened.”

By journeying back more than a decade, NCIS: Tony and Ziva aims to unravel the mystery surrounding Tony and Ziva’s lives post-departure from the original series.

Ziva made a dramatic comeback years later to assist Gibbs with a case, only to leave the capital once more for a Parisian life with Tony and Tali.