NCIS fans, consider this your one and only warning: “You cannot miss the first minute of our [Sept. 22] season premiere,” teases executive producer Shane Brennan. “You’ll think you know what’s going on, but then you’ll go, ‘Am I seeing things? What just happened?!’”
In possibly related news, Brennan says Tony and Ziva’s relationship “will evolve rapidly” in the opener and then play out over the next three episodes. “And then fans will have to take a big deep breath and try and figure out what will happen next.”
I’m guessing it will involve them eventually sealing the deal, right? “Yes, but I don’t know when,” Brennan hedges. “But at some point, yes. You can’t have an on-again, off-again relationship like this that isn’t on-again at some point in a very unexpected way. We don’t do things by a formula here on NCIS.”
Want more NCIS scoop? You’re in luck—this Thursday’s Ask Ausiello will be chock full of it!
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Sealing the deal in the first 3 episodes? Awesome.
How i wish that I was the HOT chick where I worked so that the HOT male would have to fall in love with me and we could go off anf have babies together.
Just because they look good together isn’t enough reason (I hope) for a relationship.
Anyway, I can think of another two cast members who look good together but that will never happen; sniff.
Given I see sibling rivalry between Tony and Ziva I’m not sure I want the deal sealed…
Hmm I never argued like that with my brother, that would be called incest in my book or close to it since they have not had sex as far as we know.
I like “sealing the deal” by the third episode, otherwise I turn the channel.
Like I haven’t been stressed enought over NCIS this summer!
I don’t know if I want them to “seal the deal.” The tension between the two is great – I guess I’ll have to trust Mr. Brennan.
Yeah, I would hope NCIS would not devolve with the dreams, hallucinations and ludicrous pairings we’ve seen on other shows, but I’m not sure I do trust SB anymore. First we have manipulative statements like the above; then we have the fact that he transformed Ziva from a cool, steely, kick-butt operative to a conflicted chick with daddy issues who can’t handle her personal life and can’t even tell a convincing lie when she needs to. I think a Tony-Ziva hookup would satisfy the girly-romantic element among viewers, but would seriously disappoint many others.
Ooooh… interesting! I trust the writers on this show (unlike most shows), so I’m really looking forward to this twist.
My thoughts exactly. I trust the writers to handle this well, and I look forward to whatever is going to happen between them!
All I have to say it yeah right. Remember the House and Bones sex of last year. All just a dream, so I am not excepting much.
Yeah, those would be the shows whose writers I DON’T trust. And Shonda, of course. But there are a few shows whose writers know what they’re doing. NCIS and Big Bang are among them.
Ah, the House and Bones sex. I was quite heartbroken after those episodes. I felt so…cheated.
About time!
I’ve felt so deprived of anything NCIS! Thanks, Michael! I’ll keep my eye out for Thursday’s Ask Ausiello!
there was barely anything in Thursdays Ask ausiello am I missing something?
the opening scene is Tony and Ziva having sex. Wild, on the desk sex.
and then Tony wakes up (day dreaming at his desk while watching Ziva type up a report)
and then Gibbs smacks him in the head.
Perfect, Charlie, and very diplomatic. As far as I am concerned Tony is toilet paper and a very cheap brand.
They already did that scene… but it was with Kate.
After such a disastrous season six…this scoop would make me forgive anything!!! I actually think it is time for Tony and Ziva to get together. You can’t have the couple wait TOO long or people will become tired of it and lose interest, of course you can’t do it too soon or the magic will be gone. To me this is the perfect time, a way to get a lot of fans back on the NCIS wagon, I know I’m not the only one who found the latter half of SEason 6 particularly the Micheal Rivken storyline just a terrible waste of airtime.
Nerwen, do you really think that after Ziva pushed Tony down and jammed a gun into his chest, that Tony should seek a relationship with Ziva? I think it would twist and destroy his character far too much.
And don’t forget her comment to him implying that she’d rather her sexbuddy who was very obviously USING her have survived as opposed to the partner who put his career and life on the line to cover her ungrateful six. Sorry, but Brennan RUINED Ziva with that entire Rivkin storyline…
And let’s not forget Rule 12. Like Gibbs would *really* let them get together & stay on his team.
No I don’t think it is out there, Tony isn’t mad at Ziva. He wants her back with the team and the made that clear in the season finale. Yeah Ziva made some mistakes in season 6 (that Rivken storline was crap!) but so has Tony. I do think Tony and Ziva should get together not because they have great chemistry but a majority of fans want it, if you don’t listen to the fans then the fans will stop watching (look at Gilmore Girls) and no I don’t think rule 12 is going to be a factor because I think Gibbs would actually support a relationship between Tony and Ziva as long as they are proffessional about it. Look at him and Jenny, wouldn’t it be hypocritical of him if he broke up his team because they fell in love?
I don’t think he’ll seek a relationship with her at all! I think he’ll rescue her — but they’ll still be p*ssed off at each other — and they’ll have wild, angry sex. Then they’ll realize they just totally screwed up (Rule 12) and it’ll be really, really awkward. Now, tell me that doesn’t sound fun.
Agreed. Putting them together would be a disaster. Tony’s character would have to be completely rewritten. He’s never shown any interest in her other than appreciating her appearance. Having the writers suddenly decide he wants her would be an extremely stupid move.
The majority of the fans don’t want it. Every online poll that doesn’t allow ballot stuffing shows a clear 2 to 1 majority are not in favor of any sexual or romantic developments between Tony and Ziva.
I cannot wait for the season opener or for thursday’s AA
Mr. Brennan insisted that we ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT miss the season finale and frankly, it sucked on ice (like MOST of season 6.) Thanks, but no thanks, Mr. Brennan. You already burned the bridges for me and managed to make me actively dislike Ziva so I think I’ll let someone else suffer through this nonsense.
Phil, I’m with you. I dislike Ziva so much that with every Ziva centric spoiler that comes out makes me less and less interested in tuning in.
Prior to s6, I was a VERY big Ziva fan (AND a Tony/Ziva fan) but with how she was written in that so-called “Tiva” arc, I utterly gave up on her and the show. It’s clear to me that Brennan doesn’t have a clue what made the show fun to watch, not with how they’ve turned Tony into a complete idiot, Ziva into an incompetent freak, and McGee into a smug jack@$$.
1. Tony has ALWAYS been a complete idiot. I’ve wanted them to get rid of him since the end of season 1.
2. Ziva is not incompetant. She was being used by her father and Rivkin and let her emotions blind her. Yes, they did her character a great disservice in the last 6 episodes, but I really liked the way she kicked Tony’s ass to demonstrate why he won the fight with Rivkin.
3. McGee has been a Jack@$$ for the past 2 seasons. I was really unhappy with the Los Angeles crossover episode cause he ruined it with his techno fever. I’d much rather see Abby in the field.
AWESOME! 9/22 can’t come soon enough.
Is it too much to hope that this next round of spoilers will feature the show instead of this faux couple that Brennan keeps pushing. If he really thought the last 4 episodes of last season were a romantic triangle, I wonder about him. All of the online polls are running 2 to 1 for people not wanting romantic connections on this crime show. It’d be nice if they listened. Or if Brennan actually realized that most of the viewership wants to know about more than Mossad Barbie and her pathological obsession for a man who has said she isn’t his type.
Ziva is much cooler than Kate-the relationship between Tony and Ziva is better than Tony and Kate. Kate was crazy not to want to get together with Tony. I’m looking forward to this season!
Call me cautiously excited. Mr. Brennan hyped up the S6 finale arc so much and, while I do admit to being excited to see how it plays out, I am afraid all these “explosive” happenings are occurring at the expense of the characters. I would LOVE to see some development on the Tony/Ziva front, but let’s have it happen organically and enjoy the slow build. They have a lot of repair work to do before they jump into bed together. And I really don’t want to see them on-again/off-again. That’s lame drama for the sake of drama. Remember when NCIS was good in the early seasons? Oy!
And I am going to be mega-mad if this turns out like all the other teases of last year– Bones/Booth, House/Cuddy…GET A NEW IDEA PEOPLE!
OH HECK NO, they “seal the deal” i.e. sex I’m gone
it’s over for me and NCIS – Tony is the worst written character on television. No growth, no maturation, I hope Ziva kicks him in the man parts (hi moderator) and they get on with the season.
I am going to disagree with you about him not growing. He grew a lot with Jeanne at least. Then after those events, even Ziva noticed that he uses the frat boy/ movie loving guy as a front. He hasn’t grown much since the beginning of season five, but overall since the first couple of seasons, he has grown. Maybe a little bit at the beginning with Jenny dying. But overall, he has grown and uses his old self as a front.
He had grown. In season 4 he really started to grow and develop, what with being the leader of the team and with the undercover assignment. Then, he regressed. It irritated me to no end because I liked the mature Tony a lot better. (I’m not going to state this as fact, because I don’t have the source, but I heard that Michael Weatherly liked playing the shallow Tony better, so they went back to that character. I hope it isn’t true, but given what transpired after season 4, I have to wonder.)
I love Ziva and like Tony well enough, but I’m not sure I want them to get together on the show. First, that tends to cause division in the fans (look at the vitriol in this post with just a hint of them getting together). Second, I am not sure I trust TPTB to do it right. So many times on-screen relationships on procedurals are screwed up and make me like the show less.
Sigh. I’m keeping my fingers crossed…
Looks like this could be either really, really amazing or really, really disappointing. As in, if they do this right, I will be ecstatic, but if they go the soap opera route (which I kind of doubt but you never know), I will not be happy. At all. I’m all for Tony and Ziva being in a romantic relationship, but it needs to be done right or it could very well ruin the show.
If by “sealing the deal,” Brennan means “killing off Ziva,” then I hope so.
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– Rob
With the way Ziva was written in S6, that seems to be a decent way out of the mess the character has become. Don’t think you’ll get your wish though.
YES! Now *that* would be terrific. She’s pretty much a waste of space and has been for years.
I like Ziva, I like Tony, and I like NCIS.
I guess that makes me a minority, but I’m really looking forward to NCIS Tuesdays this fall.
Nah you aren’t a minority, all of these people who are writing angry things about Tony and Ziva are just shouting really loud. Most people are Tiva fans. That being said ALOT of Tive fans, me included, weren’t happy with the crap pile that was seaond 6. That being said if there is one thing I know about TV shows it is that fans can be VERY forgiving, if the writers get back on track and write storylines that fans actually like SEason 6 will be nothing but a memory and people will be happy and loving Tony and Ziva again.
Sorry – don’t think *most* people are Tiva fans. Most polls have registered a majority who do *NOT* want the characters together.
I’m with you, XK.
Nope, love Ziva, love Tony, love NCIS. This is a cast that has real chemistry and some of the best written characters on TV with their complexity and growth. Can’t wait for the start of the season. That said, I do admit that I felt the season finale was all over the place and Ziva’s extreme anger was not supported by what we saw during the rest of the season. (that is, we weren’t shown enough of her relationship with the guy through the season to make the audience understand her anger at his death.) But that was a mistake that the usually spot-on NCIS writers can rectify and bring it back (as opposed to the too far gone to be saved Bones Writers. That’s a show I just de-DVR’d after last season and espeically after that crappy finale. RIP Bones)
Agreed 100% on all fronts. How rare is THAT for message board posting?
LOL…are you sure you don’t want to call me a name and question whether my father was married to my mother just to make it seem like a real message board posting.
I love NCIS and the Tony/Ziva storyline. Season 6 was a little lame with Michael but still love the show.
I’m with you–I love NCIS, love Tony/Zive and Gibbs. Can’t wait until S7. But I really wish they would do something with McGee!
thank you i was starting to think i might be the only one tuning in next season. It’s true, the last four episodes of season six especially threw me for a loop and got me all annoyed and angry and wanting more, which any decent season ending is supposed to. The writers were doing their job, creating a story that people want to know the ending to. be it killing off Ziva (which personally I’m against) or having them “seal the deal” its what happens next is what everyone is desperate to know. Writers job done.
I agree with you, XK. I think what a lot of people are forgetting about Ziva and Rivkin is that they grew up together. They’ve known each other all their lives and their relationship was sanctioned by Daddy. Ziva is SO conflicted over her father, but in the end, he is her father and she loves him. I think the toughness is a part of her, but just like Tony’s shallowness, Ziva’s toughness is a front she hides behind. We’ve seen over the seasons how she is affected by things: killing Ari; her conversation with Gibbs in Hiatus; Corporal Punishment (the steroid soldier); the orange-cap nuclear inspector; and the serial killer that she had to take down. All of these incidents have shown the soft – and sometimes conflicted – side of Ziva. A woman can be tough and emotional at the same time. Add to that Tony’s ability to see past her tough front and his concern for her as a partner and a friend, and you’ve got the makings of some amazing fireworks.
I love this show. I don’t know where the polls are people are talking about. But I vote “thumbs up”.
I hope it’s not a dream. That’s way overused and the whole dream sequence on Bones totally backfired. So if Shane decides to use that, it’ll look totally lame. As a fan of Tony and Ziva though, I can’t wait to see what happens. At the very least, I want the team back. The first half of season 6 was great, but it definitely lost track with the whole Rivkin thing. I’m sure there was a master plan there, but the end of the season was a bummer for a lot of people. They need to get Ziva back and return to the great team that they are and start solving crimes again.
How could it be anything else? Ziva is in Somalia being tortured. It has to be a fantasy or dream sequence, which House and Bones did better, and sooner.
Exactly. I want my dead petty officer of the week back!! Enough with the terrorists and homeland security! We get it already. Terrorism is bad. I think we all understand that. I want the team working and solving military related crimes TOGETHER!! And as far as “TIVA” goes, does anyone remember the last season of “Without a Trace”. “Nough said.
Tony and Ziva becoming an item is a spectacularly bad idea.
It will mean the end of the “sibling” rivalry between them, and that is exactly what makes them so much fun to watch. It’s one of the reasons I absolutely love this show.
If they stay together indefinitely, it will be boring as hell (because it will put an end to or change the nature of their squabbles, and “Tony & Ziva the Couple” just won’t be as interesting/fun to watch).
If it does not work out and split up, it will be awkward for them to continue working together (the “let’s just be friends/co-workers” thing after a relationship NEVER really works), and one of them will probably end up leaving.
There’s a reason one of Gibbs’ rules is “Never date a co-worker”.
NCIS is my favourite series, but if Tony and Ziva become a couple, I’ll stop watching. Period.
Ditto here, RvE. NCIS is actually the only show I take time out to watch every week. But if they persist in the Tony & Ziva as a couple story arc, I’ll stop watching & stick with the dvds from before they destroyed the show with this nutty romance.
Not to create more division on the board, but I definitely would not categorize their relationship as sibling rivlary. There has always been, whether there will be a relationship or not, sexual tension between the two. Not exactly the relationship I would have with a sibling.
I always have to laugh at the posts where people stomp their feet, pout and cry if they don’t get their way they will …lip trembling…stop watching. That may have worked with your mommy when you wanted a cookie, but really, grow up. The ratings have never been stronger for this show, unlike many long-running shows it has gained, not lost, audiences. Clearly the producers are going the way the majority of the viewers prefer. Start writing fanfic if you only want things to go your way only.
I have never had a temper tantrum like the one you describe in my entire life (and it wouldn’t have worked with my mum anyway), so I don’t need to “grow up”, thank you.
I don’t for one moment think that my statement will affect the direction NCIS season 7 is going in; if the writers do plan on pairing off Tony and Ziva, there’s no doubt in my mind that they will do just that, no matter what those viewers who are against this idea say or do.
All I was saying is that I will no longer like watching the show as much as I do now if Tony and Ziva become romantically involved, because whether they end up staying together or not, it will change the dynamics between them forever.
Those dynamics (the bickering, the teasing, the fact that they know exactly which buttons to push to get the other one all riled up, the way Ziva sometimes scares the living daylights out of Tony) are exactly what I love about them, and one of the main reasons I love NCIS. That is why turning these two into a couple is the one route I hope the writers will never take. If “the majority of the viewers” feel differently, that’s fine with me, but I am just not interested in “Tony and Ziva the Couple”.
So yes, I will stop watching if they’re paired off, but that has nothing to do with “wanting things to go my way only”. There have been a few storylines in NCIS’ past that I didn’t like as much as most of the others, and if I “wanted things to go my way only”, I would have stopped watching long ago. But changing this particular aspect of the show is where I, personally, draw the line. If Tony and Ziva’s relationship changes in the way the writers seem to be planning to change it, I just won’t like watching them anymore, and I won’t watch NCIS anymore for the same reason I didn’t really care for the last few seasons of (among others) “Will & Grace” and “Gilmore Girls” – I loved the first few seasons, but in my opinion, the last few seasons just weren’t as good.
We’re all entitled to our own opinions on this subject, so please don’t belittle us for voicing it.
I’m a huge Tony/Ziva fan. I can’t wait to see what happens. They’re my favorite non-couple (so far) on TV. NCIS is an awesome show
No Please dont put them together there not lovers there like a brother sister not lovers if this happens i may have to stop watching another of my favorite shows.
I CAN’T WAIT!
I agree that season 6 was a bit off but I can’t waitto find out what this twist is. I love the tony/ziva relationship and hope that SB will fix it. Thanks for the spoiler! more please!
If you look back to past DVD sets, it was always Don Bellsario’s plan to have two of the agents together eventually. While Shane’s in charge of the show now, I think that’s always been the plan. While it might have been initially the idea to get Kate and someone together, that obviously didn’t happen. Michael and Cote’s chemistry is amazing and I really hope they follow through with the original plan. A lot of fans have been waiting since season 3 to see something happen between them. It would be nice to see some payoff. And I don’t mean them in a flash in a pan type relationship. I mean an actual healthy, stable relationship with each other because it’s what both characters need and deserve.
So of course because the actors get along together well, that means their characters just HAVE to become a couple? No thank you….SB needs to dump the whole pairing scenario. It’s NCIS, not As the Bullpen Turns.
I think I can do you one better where chemistry and the actors liking each other can come in. Since Mark and Michael like each other that automatically means that Gibbs and Tony should be together, right? I mean it makes so much sense and the chemistry is there so it needs to happen. The Tibbs shippers need a payoff and deserve more than a father-son relationship.
Agreed! And as Unhinged suggests, if they just *have* to pair two agents up, why on Earth does it have to be Tony and Ziva? Why not Tony and Gibbs? There’s far more chemistry between those two anyway. What? They’d never consider it? I, along with most fans, don’t want them considering Tony/Ziva, either.
I’m sorry, after the events of the last season, I cannot see Ziva as the type to be in a healthy or stable relationship. She pushed an injured man down and jammed a gun in his chest. That is as far from stable as I can imagine.
Maybe a little stability is what she needs, if she can take a breath and realize that she can’t continue to have one foot in Isreal and one in Washington then I think she can actually finally find some peace.
There sibling” rivalry between them is what makes Tony/Ziva so munch fun to watch if they become lovers itll destory the relationship they have imho
I can’t figure out what’s different about Tony in the picture. At first I thought he had his eyes done, but they look like a “before” shot.
He kinda looks like he partied waaaaay too hard the night before the picture was taken.
If SB thinks he’s grabbing attention with this, he’s right, but it’s not the attention he wants. He’s going to force many fans to check their tv guides for something else to watch. Sooner or later he has to realize that Tiva isn’t the majority he thinks and most either don’t care (but will be pushed against the pairing) or decidedly don’t want the pairing. Is this *really* the lead in he wants for his spinoff?
What NCIS fansite are you going to??? Every where I go that has NCIS with it there are a multitude of Tiva fans, Tiva fans ARE the majority. There are the diehards, the ones who are casual fans, the ones who can live with or without them and the ones who are obbsessed. I guarantee about that most NCIS fans are Tiva fans.
Probably more than I should be going to….check out the forums,various blogs and the LJ’s & mailing lists. Majority of fans are either neutral or very much against the pairing.
Where are you going, Nerwen? Every place I visit online (a dozen or more mailing lists, the Live Journals, the six or so NCIS dedicated forums) none of these have a strong pro Tiva bias.
Thing is, television isn’t a democracy. The PTB (hopefully)have a plan, and most of the time, it works out better if they DON’T give in to fan demands. I’m all about fans voicing their opinions, but I don’t think we should expect to be able to actually influence the storyline.* Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter what the “majority” of fans want or don’t want. It just matters whether or not they tune in.
*Exception: Fans CAN sometimes influence a network when it is debating whether to keep or cancel a show. The recent campaign to save CHUCK is a great example.
Hopefully SB looks at how many shows have sunk riding on the romance ship. Although he did say last season that fans would be able to vote on something. Did he ever reveal what that was?
No, it’s not a democracy, but it does live or die based on the number of viewers tuning in. Forced romance in procedurals just doesn’t work. It never has. The core of the fan base isn’t there to see romance. If people want romance, I suggest Lifetime or Oxygen.
True, fans have a little impact, if advertisers think they are not watching.
Usually when a romance goes to the next level, the show ‘jumps the shark’ and they have written themselves into a dead-end show. [refer to Moonlighting, et al.] I agree with the person who suggests, for romance, see Oxygen.
If Shane puts them together and makes it a fling, I’ll feel totally cheated. I want a real relationship, not just some roll in the hay. I really hope he plans to make it something real.
yay! best news ever! Can’t wait for the premeire.. love tiva!
I cannot wait to see some movement on the Tiva front. Finally!
im so excited for the new season and for tony and ziva…it is about time…and for all you people who threaten to not watch the show because of this…… REALITY CHECK: its just a tv show!!! stop being so negative..half of you will still watch NCIS anyway
It’s a just a show? Yeah, we know. But it’s a show we watch & do *not* want to see destroyed by pairing off 2 main characters.
Getting couples together doesn’t ruin a show. Look at Farscape, The Nanny and CSI! Not getting them together, that can make some fans angry The X-Files never resolved Mulder and Scully and fans are still waiting for answers. If you think pairing off 2 main characters will ruin a show then you better stick to reality TV, ALL shows have pairings with the main characters and eventually those pairings need to get together otherwise the show will go stale and boring.
I’m sorry, but if there’s one show that was ruined after two of the leads got together it is “The Nanny”.
Don’t get me wrong, I rooted for Fran and Mr Sheffield as much as I think the majority of the viewers did, but the wedding episode (which was fabulous) should have been the series finale. Once Fran was Mrs Sheffield, she was no longer the nanny, one of the main storylines of the show (Fran and Mr Sheffield lusting after each other) was gone, and so was the whole point of the show.
And to make matters worse, they paired off Niles and CC as well, which was about the most twisted, unlikely and unnatural partnership in the history of comedy (and, compared the hilarious feud of the earlier seasons, not funny AT ALL)!
And half of us won’t! And we all know it’s a TV show, but some of us care enough that we hate seeing characters we love dissolve into caricatures of what they once were, which is what SB did last season by turning a team of professionals into individual shadows of what they used to be.
Tiva didn’t ruin season 6, terrible writing ruined season 6. The plotline with Rivken had already been done in season 4 with Jeanne and the episodes had boring cases that didn’t have the infamous NCIS twist endings that we all know and love. I agree with someone who wrote above, what happened to the dead or missing petty officer?
Tiva can be wonderful if written right, look at Under Covers, Boxed in, Designated Target and Cloak. All some favorite episodes among fans and all chock full of Tiva. Coincidence? I think not.
Indeed, some of my all-time favourite NCIS scenes are “Tony & Ziva scenes”, but what makes these episodes (and many others) so good is that T&Z are shown teasing each other, making fun of each other and squabbling.
“Under Covers” is one of my favourite episodes (LOVE the scene in which Ziva scares the bejeezus out of Tony by, still half asleep, pushing that gun under his nose), but it’s only funny because they were pretending to be a couple.
As soon as they start playing tonsil tennis for real, the squabbles, jokes, teasing and jibes that make these two so much fun to watch will change or (even worse) end altogether, and as far as I’m concerned, that will just suck all the fun out of watching them.
Four episodes among nearly 80 (just counting the season with Ziva). Yes, there is so much Tony loves Ziva and Ziva loves Tony that I wonder how I missed it.
I, personally don’t think TIVA would work. Why, because we have 4 seasons of Ziva basically showing little or no respect for Tony as a person and an investigator. I sometimes wish Tony and/or Gibbs would actually refer to Ziva as Probie; she’s more the probie investigator than McGee.
I’m not even too fond of the squabbles because Ziva can get pretty cutting at times. I’d lvew to see her character developed in line with the back story we’ve been given but up until now she’s acted very much as a place holder; the fourth team member who needs to be female for the politically correct demographic coverage. She has not been instrumental in actually solving any cases because she is not a trained investigator. Gibbs made an early comment in season three about having to teach her the rules but I see now evidence of her learning.