Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo are back as Tony and Ziva in the latest NCIS spinoff, premiering on Paramount+ on Thursday, September 4, with the first three episodes. And so when we spoke with them at San Diego Comic-Con in TV Insider and TV Guide Magazine’s studio, we had to ask them their favorite episodes ahead of NCIS: Tony & Ziva.
De Pablo’s first is a very memorable one for the two, early in their partnership (she joined the cast that season): “Under Covers” (Season 3 Episode 8). “There’s a lot of romance,” she said, but Weatherly disagreed, “I don’t think there’s any romance in that.” (The episode saw them undercover as a couple.) The next pick is one that was only a few after that, “Boxed In,” and he shared a behind-the-scenes tidbit about his costar, revealing she’d forgotten her ear protection.
The Season 7 premiere, “Truth or Consequences,” in which the team ended up rescuing Ziva after she’d been taken captive. Tony, in the process, was given truth serum, and because he couldn’t lie, he admitted, “Couldn’t live without you.”
“It’s a great thing that [writer] Jesse Stern did because it’s just the greatest thing that he gave you that you can’t lie,” de Pablo said to Weatherly. “His entire body’s trying to lie. What Michael does with it is so fabulous.”
Added Weatherly, “He’s really trying hard not to say, ‘I love you. I love you, I love you,’ but he doesn’t say it.”
Watch the full video above with Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo for a complete breakdown of their favorite NCIS episodes, including the “subtext” about what may or may not have happened while they were in Paris. (“We have never agreed upon whatever our past history is,” Weatherly shared.) Then, head to the comments section and let us know your picks.
NCIS: Tony & Ziva, Series Premiere (three episodes), Thursday, September 4, Paramount+
Commented