One former Very Special Agent is officially back for NCIS season 24.
After a mix of highs and lows in the 2025-2026 TV cycle, there are so many things to be excited about in the upcoming run of the CBS procedural. Aside from the flagship itself, there are other interesting movements in the bigger franchise, such as Mark Harmon reprising his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs full-time for NCIS: Origins season 3, while LL Cool J’s Sam Hanna is starting a new chapter via NCIS: New York. As for the main show, NCIS season 24 is welcoming Tony Dinozzo back.
While there was an expectation that the new season will finally introduce the late Director Leon Vance’s true replacement, Wilmer Valderrama’s confirmation that NCIS season 24 will feature cast additions birthed so many theories about what that might look like for the series. Luckily, CBS didn’t let people speculate for long, as only a few weeks later, it was announced that Weatherly was coming back to NCIS for a season-long arc. Specific details about his return remain under wraps, but the important thing is he’s returning.
Thanks to Katrina Law‘s social media post (via @CristalCortesV1/X), the public has their first glimpse at the much-awaited homecoming for Weatherly and Dinozzo. As the cast and crew re-assembled for NCIS season 24’s first cast read, the video shows everyone present during the session, including the returning original cast member, who sits between Brian Dietzen and Valderrama, and in a more nostalgic way, across long-time on-screen partner, Sean Murray. Watch the video below:
Weatherly previously revealed that he was going to start work on July 14, which was when the aforementioned video was taken. It didn’t seem like the cast and crew shot anything, so actual filming will likely start at a later date. In any case, the fact that Dinozzo is already involved during the very first cast read for the year suggests that he will be very prominent in NCIS season 24. While the initial report of his return revealed that his role would be a season-long arc, it still could have meant that he would join the series a few episodes after it premiered its new year.
Unfortunately, the set video didn’t reveal any clue whether Cote de Pablo would also be joining NCIS season 24. More than the specifics of Dinozzo’s comeback story, the bigger mystery among the fan base is about Ziva’s whereabouts, considering where their Paramount+ series left them. The expansion show may have been canceled, but CBS is continuing NCIS: Tony & Ziva in the best way possible by bringing in Dinozzo, and hopefully, Ziva as well. Perhaps Tali might even join her parents back in Navy Yard.
No release date has been set for NCIS season 24, but as CBS’s fall 2026 schedule inches near, expect that some announcements will be made soon. In light of that may also come additional information about Dinozzo’s return to DC. If CBS really wants to make the most out of these exciting cast changes, a crossover with NCIS: Origins where Gibbs and his oldest agent reunite would be a dream come true for so many.
- Release Date
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September 23, 2003
- Showrunner
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Donald P. Bellisario
- Directors
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Dennis Smith, Terrence O’Hara, Tony Wharmby, James Whitmore Jr., Thomas J. Wright, Michael Zinberg, Arvin Brown, Rocky Carroll, Diana Valentine, Leslie Libman, Tawnia McKiernan, Colin Bucksey, William Webb, Bethany Rooney, Alrick Riley, Jeff Woolnough, Alan J. Levi, Lionel Coleman, Martha Mitchell, Peter Ellis, Michael Weatherly, Edward Ornelas, Stephen Cragg, Tom Wright
- Writers
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George Schenck, Frank Cardea, Jesse Stern, John C. Kelley, Jennifer Corbett, Christopher Silber, Reed Steiner, Nicole Mirante-Matthews, Jack Bernstein, Scott J. Jarrett, Matthew R. Jarrett, Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Don McGill, Gil Grant, Frank Military, Nell Scovell, Steven Kriozere, Brian Dietzen, Kate Torgovnick May, Jeff Vlaming, Sydney Mitchel, Katie White, Richard C. Arthur, Laurence Walsh
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Sean Murray
Timothy McGee
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David McCallum
Dr. Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard