Summary

• The NCIS franchise is changing by going international, introducing global settings and characters to create more diverse storylines.
• The trend of internationalizing the franchise began with NCIS: Sydney, blending American and Australian agents for exciting viewing.
• By broadening its perspective with international offices, NCIS is set to challenge stereotypes and offer a more inclusive narrative.

The NCIS: Tony & Ziva casting update officially confirmed a major trend that will change the nature of the cast of NCIS characters, which rotates necessarily as actors must come and go. The original series is returning for NCIS season 22, but it isn't rewriting the playbook of what makes NCIS great. CBS is making big changes in their other series, however.

The franchise is gradually introducing massive changes throughout its spinoff series, and NCIS: Tony & Ziva is the most remarkable example of that. The series will lean into changes the franchise has tested over the last few years — it will feature the serialized storytelling of NCIS: Sydney, and the spinoff shows have one other vital detail in common. The change is present in nearly all the current NCIS shows, and the franchise has canceled most shows where it's not. This significant trend will completely change the nature of the NCIS franchise, which started as a United States-based police procedural.

The Cast Of NCIS: Tony & Ziva Confirms The NCIS Franchise Is Going International

The NCIS: Tony & Ziva Cast Features International Agents

The NCIS: Tony & Ziva cast signals that the franchise is going international. It confirms that an NCIS cast doesn't need a single NCIS agent in the cast to survive in the franchise. With Tony and Ziva having retired from the agency, the entire team in NCIS: Tony & Ziva will lack any current NCIS positioning. Instead, the Tony & Ziva cast will feature a Russian ex-pat, a former French intelligence agent, and at least two high-ranking officials at Interpol (The International Criminal Police Organization). The spinoff will favor the international police organization over its namesake. (via Deadline)

The show's synopsis confirmed the agents will be on the run in Europe.

It's a sign that the NCIS franchise is embracing its international presence (in this case, departing entirely from its NCIS roots). NCIS: Tony & Ziva will also feature a global setting. The series will likely kick off in Paris, where Tony went to raise Tali as Michael Weatherly departed NCIS and where Ziva ultimately ed them after her season 17 farewell. The show's synopsis confirmed the agents will be on the run in Europe. The cast is filming in Budapest, which will be a backdrop for some European locations.

The Franchise Started This Trend With Its NCIS: Sydney Spinoff

The NCIS Franchise Went Worldwide With NCIS: Sydney

The franchise's international trend began with NCIS: Sydney, which premiered in 2023 amid the writer's strikes and filled a vital need for programming. The NCIS: Sydney story brought American agents to Australia and blended them with Australians, which is the central premise of the series. It all started when NCIS Agent Afloat Michelle Mackey worked with Jim Dempsey of the Australian Federal Police, and they did such a good job that their superiors decided to form an AFP/NCIS Sydney Task Force. The cultural differences the agents experience underline their team dynamic, making for exciting viewing.

NCIS: Sydney has one season and has been renewed for season 2.

That said, with Tony and Ziva not tied to NCIS and with most of the cast being international, the series will feel cohesively international as a whole rather than relying on the premise of out-of-place NCIS agents in Sydney. NCIS: Tony & Ziva will take the international premise a giant leap forward, introducing international law enforcement and forgoing any official ties to NCIS. It's an exciting gamble, but overall, it mirrors the trend toward globalization on a large scale. It will be interesting to see if the franchise solidifies the trend with whatever they launch next.

NCIS Honored Its International Trend By Introducing The Far East Office

Jessica Knight Had A Connection To The Far East Office

NCIS introduced the Far East office in the most recent season. The Far East office was teased in the Ducky tribute episode when the Far East office sent flowers to memorialize the late Dr. Mallard. While the NCIS Far East office exists in real life and NCIS isn't reinventing the wheel by introducing the office, it was significant that it was being incorporated into the narrative. This signaled the Far East office would connect to NCIS Headquarters and the Navy Yard. Ultimately, it was in connection to Jessica Knight.

NCIS season 21 was a shortened season and only featured 10 episodes in total.

Jessica Knight is a special agent in the original NCIS series. In NCIS season 21, episode 5, "The Plan," it was revealed that Knight's father, Feng Zhao, was the Special Agent in Charge of the Far East office. He initially wanted Jess to take his place when he retired, but she turned down the position. While it's common for NCIS agents to interact with other offices, they used to be closer to home. The original NCIS spinoffs focused on offices in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Hawai'i, and the main show connected with offices closer to the US, like Gitmo.

How The Trend Is Changing The NCIS Franchise For The Better

The Trend Gives The Franchise A Broader Perspective

Ultimately, the franchise trend to branch out overseas signals that it's heading in a positive direction. Taking in different perspectives from other parts of the world can only broaden the NCIS franchise's perspective. However, it will have to be careful not to lean into stereotypes about the different parts of the world it touches. The more global narrative can bring in perspectives from law enforcement agencies worldwide, challenging the American policing system by contrasting it to other world crime-stopping organizations.

NCIS must at least compensate for the lack of diversity, and expanding its cultural horizons is a good start.

The franchise will undoubtedly have a broader lens on global conflict and will continue to develop a more inclusive narrative of other cultures. It will be vital for the franchise to continue to seek positive representation of diversity as it progresses, especially in light of the NCIS: Hawai'i, which effectively diminished some of the most diverse characters the NCIS franchise ever introduced. NCIS must at least compensate for the lack of diversity, and expanding its cultural horizons is a good start.

In the future, the NCIS franchise can continue to build momentum for this trend by introducing a more extensive network of NCIS offices to its viewers and utilizing it to create new storylines and represent all aspects of NCIS. The Far East office is just one of the global NCIS offices operating around the clock to serve Navy personnel worldwide. What's more, The Tony and Ziva spinoff has proved that a series doesn't need direct NCIS ties to be included in the franchise as long as it has something exceptional to offer.

Source: Deadline