(Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS ©2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Get ready for the return of Ziva and Tony. Paramount+ has ordered a new NCIS spin-off revolving around the franchise’s beloved couple played by Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly.

The actors have reprised their roles (separately) several times over the years since their departures from the NCIS series. Weatherly appeared in last week’s episode, honoring the loss of actor David McCallum aka Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, while de Pablo last played Ziva in 2020.

Ten episodes have been ordered for the spin-off, which will begin production later this year. Paramount+ revealed more about the series in a press release.

Paramount+ today announced a new series order for the next chapter in the NCIS franchise, starring Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly, who will reprise their roles as fan-favorite characters Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo. Slated to start production later this year, the 10-episode order of the all-new NCIS spinoff – the title of which will be announced at a later date – reunites de Pablo and Weatherly on screen for the first time in 10 years. The two also will serve as executive producers alongside John McNamara (Trumbo, The Magicians), who wrote the premiere episode and will serve as showrunner. Laurie Lieser, Christina Strain and Shelley Meals also will executive produce.

After Ziva’s supposed death, Tony left the NCIS team to go raise their daughter. Years later, Ziva was discovered alive, leading her to complete one final mission with NCIS before she was reunited with Tony and their daughter in Paris. Since then – and where we find them in the new Paramount+ original series – Tony and Ziva have been raising their daughter, Tali, together. When Tony’s security company is attacked, they must go on the run across Europe, try to figure out who is after them and maybe even learn to trust each other again so that they can finally have their unconventional happily ever after.

“We’ve been talking about this story for many years, and now with John McNamara at the helm, we are ready,” said Weatherly and de Pablo. “The world of Tony and Ziva (and daughter Tali) promises to be an action-packed roller coaster fueled by love, danger, tears and laughter. We also want to acknowledge and thank the fans from around the world who supported the ‘TIVA’ movement for years. To this day, they say hello in grocery stores and on the street to tell us how much these characters mean to them and ask what Tony and Ziva are up to now. This is for you!”

“I’m incredibly excited to step into the NCIS universe with Cote and Michael and thrilled to explore it from a few new angles,” said showrunner and executive producer John McNamara. “Given that the franchise is such a global sensation, I think it’s phenomenal that CBS Studios and Paramount+ have given us the greenlight to shoot in Europe. As to the title of this series, if I told you what it is, I’d be violating the Espionage Act.”

NCIS is the world’s most successful television franchise; in the 2022-2023 TV season, it’s estimated that the franchise had more than 300 million viewers around the world across all platforms, including broadcast, cable, streaming and syndication (according to Nielsen and internal data). Since the launch of Paramount+, the NCIS Franchise consistently has ranked among the top-five franchises on the service, in terms of hours consumed. In spring 2024, NCIS will celebrate its 1,000th episode across the franchise.

The upcoming new NCIS spinoff is produced by CBS Studios and executive produced by John McNamara, Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo, Laurie Lieser, Christina Strain and Shelley Meals. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

The new NCIS spin-off’s title, premiere date, and additional casting will be announced later.

What do you think? Are you a fan of NCIS? Are you excited about the return of Tony and Ziva?