Emily Wickersham tells THR about Bishop’s “intense” scene with her husband, as they reach a “wobbly point” in their relationship.

Bishop (Emily Wickersham) has had a tough road of late on NCIS, and things aren’t exactly getting easier for her.

Last week on the CBS drama, the NCIS agent joined Gibbs (Mark Harmon) in Afghanistan, where she had her first kill. In Tuesday’s new episode, “Troll,” she’ll come to terms with having to tell husband Jake (Jamie Bamber) about it, which leads to a heated scene between them.

“You get a glimpse into where they’re at in their relationship, and it’s a little bit of a wobbly point,” Wickersham tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We don’t really know how things are going to be with them because I feel like all relationships on NCIS kind of end. … There’s a lot of conflict happening in their relationship.” However, she wants to reassure fans that, though their scene is “pretty intense,” the couple is “working through things.”

As the episode’s title might suggest, “Troll” revolves around a cyber mystery, with the team figuring out if a Navy ensign’s murder is due to her career or her volunteer work as a high school basketball coach.

“We’re trying to discover whether this incident that happens is just an isolated incident in D.C., or could it have worldwide implications,” Wickersham explains. “All of it is connected to this thing called ‘the calling,’ which we’ll learn much more about [this season].”

Bishop also unearths a big secret about Jake, as it is revealed that he and Gibbs have become tight. “[This is] a huge thing because Gibbs doesn’t really talk to anyone,” Wickersham says.

Bishop’s professional involvement with Gibbs has evolved as well, and Wickersham points out that the tough moments they’ve endured have brought them closer. “Their relationship, especially after going to Afghanistan, has become stronger, and not that she ever didn’t trust him, but putting her in the position that he put her to go out in the field in Afghanistan … that was a really big step for Bishop,” she says.

That said, things typically take a dramatic turn at the end of an NCIS season, and this year is no exception, as NCIS deals with a very dangerous threat. “Towards the season finale, there’s some big stuff going on that no one is that happy about because it’s scary stuff,” the actress promises.

NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on CBS. Let us know in the comments if you think Bishop and Jake will survive their rough patch.

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Emily Wickersham opens our interview with a playful, clandestine whisper: “Jake and Gibbs are having a secret relationship.”

Jake (played by guest star Jamie Bamber), of course, is the husband of Wickersham’s NCIS character, probationary Special Agent Ellie Bishop. Gibbs, her boss. And Wickersham is teasing the “light runner,” as they say, in this Tuesday’s episode (CBS, 8/7c), which launches a three-part season-ending salvo.

Regarding the aforementioned bromance of sorts, which comes to light this week, the actress says, “I don’t know if Ellie knows the extent of it, but the team is very surprised, because it’s an unlikely duo.” And while mum on the exact nature of the connection, she dismisses our suggestion that they’re meeting up for mini-golf and brewskis. “I think they’re talking about more important things that no one is allowed to know about,” she teases. “It’s all very interesting….”

That mini-mystery, fascinating DiNozzo and the others as it does, is perhaps a rare bit of lightness amidst Season 12’s intense final three hours. Here, Wickersham previews the high-stakes case the NCIS team is about to tackle, the casualty it will claim, and more.

TVLINE | This week’s episode, “Troll,” kicks off a big season-ending storyline….
Yeah. Ned Dorneget — played by the wonderful Matt Jones, who I worked with for the first time — is assisting the team when an ensign who worked in Naval Intelligence is murdered. We find out that the murder is connected to an international terrorist group that is recruiting children through the Internet. So basically, through the last three episodes, we’re trying to figure out what the hell is going on.NCIS Finale Death Spoilers

TVLINE | Is there ultimately some sort of terrorist event NCIS is scrambling to thwart?
Oh yeah, a big event that I obviously can’t talk about. But these episodes bring up important things about the Internet and how accessible it is to everyone, children in particular. The Internet is a wonderful place but it has the potential to be a very scary place as well. You don’t know who your kids are talking to….

TVLINE | No, one of my 12-year-olds has an Instagram account with 17,000 followers, so I make sure to keep an eye on things.
It’s crazy, yeah. I just feel like you never know who’s behind the accounts or whatever. It’s scary. It’s scary.

TVLINE | What can you reveal about the “significant loss” that [showrunner] Gary Glasberg told me about?
Ohh, I know…. The significant loss is someone who everyone loves, I think, and it will be a very sad, shocking thing — but, at the same time, it becomes a motivator for the team, to kind of figure things out….

Link to full Interview

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Question: Any tiny scoop for the last episodes of NCIS? —Ann
Ausiello: In the season’s penultimate episode, “The Lost Boys” — which airs May 5 and continues a story arc about a terrorist group that recruits young people online — one of the NCIS agents will form a special connection with a boy caught in middle of the scheme.

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Question: As we’re moving quickly toward May, do you have any scoop on where NCIS is headed for their Season 12 finale? Are we getting a cliffhanger this year? –Joni
Ausiello: Sort of…? Coming off of last spring’s decidedly quiet finale, showrunner Gary Glasberg told Matt Mitovich that while Season 12 will end with “not your typical cliffhanger,” viewers can for certain expect “shocking surprises that will leave everyone speechless.”

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Question: Are we going to see ATF Agent Zoe Keates again on NCIS? I really like her and actress Marisol Nichols! —Lori
Ausiello: As a matter of fact… yes, I can confirm that 24 alum Nichols will again reprise her role as DiNozzo’s former colleague, in an episode airing this spring.

Ask AusielloQuestion: Any new scoop on NCIS? —Marsha
Ausiello: How about another casting tidbit — and this one’s near and dear to my heart. A Martinez, former star of Santa Barbara, TV’s greatest soap ever and one of my favorite shows ever, will guest-star in a late March episode titled “Patience.” Says EP Gary Glasberg of the ep: “It deals with the mystery surrounding a decades-old airport bombing. When new evidence surfaces, the NCIS team follows a cold clue trail that turns red hot. We were thrilled when A took the role of Orlando. His South American-based character is full of surprises and brings some real twists and turns to the investigation.” Eden and Cruz, forevah!

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NCIS’ Gibbs (Mark Harmon) won’t have to wait much longer for his final showdown with the man who killed his ex-wife Diane (Melinda McGraw). In fact, the conflict between Gibbs and Sergei Mishnev (Alex Veadov) “comes to a head” on Tuesday’s episode.

“It’s kind of been percolating under the surface for Gibbs, and clearly his wheels are turning and he’s brooding,” executive producer Gary Glasberg tells TVGuide.com. “He’s thinking and he’s plotting and he’s planning. … As we all know, Gibbs isn’t one to just sit back and let things happen.”

But even if Gibbs is able to get his revenge, it won’t bring Diane back to life. And unfortunately for Gibbs, the repercussions of her murder will play out for a long time to come, for both Gibbs and Fornell (Joe Spano).

“At the end of the day, Gibbs feels a certain responsibility for what happened,” Glasberg says. “Whether that’s accurate or not, he’s carrying that around with him, and Fornell is carrying that around with him. … There are really some brilliant moments between Gibbs and Fornell. I couldn’t be happier with the performances that they gave. It’s a touching, really strong episode.”

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Gary Glasberg talks with THR about what Gibbs has planned for the man who murdered his ex-wife.

Showrunner Gary Glasberg told The Hollywood Reporter that things are set to get “intense” on the CBS procedural in the next few episodes, as Gibbs tracks down Sergei (Alex Veadov), the terrorist who killed Gibbs’ ex-wife Diane (Melinda McGraw).

Glasberg also explained why he was proud of the direction the show takes in this week’s episode, whether the frequently marrying Gibbs will be falling in love again soon and if he worries about the procedural genre getting oversaturated by competition.

This week’s episode involves the investigation into a Marine’s death. What can you tell us about it?

It’s an episode I’m super proud of. It touches on a subject matter that intrigued me from the get-go that is, an openly gay, married Marine, is killed, and he was recently nominated for a medal of honor. And the investigation into his death takes us down the road of, was it a hate crime? Was it related to his homosexuality? It sort of takes us on a twisty-turny road of the reason behind his murder. We tend not to do a tremendous amount of episodes that take on subjects like this, but once in a while, when it’s this important and means a lot to us, we do it, and I’m just genuinely proud of how it came out.

Gibbs has been on an emotional journey of late. What’s next for him?

Right after the holidays, we surprised everyone. We’ve had an ongoing storyline with a terrorist named Sergei, and Sergei ended up killing one of [Gibbs’] ex-wives [Diane], who he’s very close to, and it’s connected to Joe Spano’s character Fornell as well. In her passing, Gibbs has been and will continue to be really tortured over how it unfolded, and then that will all come to a head in the Feb. 17 episode of the show called “Cabin Fever,” where Gibbs ends up spending some time with Fornell, trying to help him through his grief, and at the same time, handling a manhunt to take down Sergei. It’s a big episode for us that I actually just finished editing, and I’m really pleased with it.

Fans seem to be enjoying Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Zoe’s (Marisol Nichols) budding romance. Where is that heading?

It’s been a terrific journey for Tony. After Ziva (Cote de Pablo) left, and he was grief-stricken and upset and miserable [with] the way things unfolded, we really watched him work through the situation, and then he’s come out the other side a more mature Tony DiNozzo. In the process of that, he met this former old flame in Zoe Keats, and he’s having fun. It’s fun for us to write it; it’s fun for Michael to act it. The character is enjoying himself. It doesn’t mean they’re going to get married; it doesn’t mean this is the one forever. It’s nice to see him in a relationship like this, and it will continue to weave through the rest of the season.

We finally got to see [Gibbs’ ex] Rebecca, played by Jeri Ryan. What was it like to have her on set, and will Rebecca return?

It was great to have her, and they have terrific chemistry. We just had a lot of fun. I don’t have anything planned in the immediate future, but I’m sure we’ll see her again. What I liked about what Jeri brought to that wife’s character is, every one of [Gibbs’ ex-wives] has been very different. Each one has a different personality, and you imagine where Gibbs was in his life at the time when he hooked up with them. And it gives us some more insight into Gibbs and into different phases of his life.

Is another romance in Gibbs’ future?

You never know. We talk about it, and I’m always open to the idea, and I’m open to the idea of finding someone for him. But by nature, Gibbs tends to be someone who spends a lot of time alone, and it’s the brooding nature of who he is. He has to be in a certain mindset to feel like he needs companionship, and you’re finding yourself saying, “Is this the time?” And very often, he’s so focused on work that it’s not meant to be.

What’s on the horizon for the second half of the season? It sounds like Sergei will be the focus for the near future?

[We’re] focused on the Sergei story through February — a very intense, terrific episode that comes to a head for that. Then probably some stand-alone episodes that will carry us through March and April — some terrific stuff that we’re working on right now. And then we’ll start to build toward our finale, and that’s literally something that I’m locking myself away [for] right now and starting to put together.

Congrats on your success with NCIS: New Orleans. What are the biggest challenges with executive-producing two series?

[Laughs.] It’s really about staying organized and staying ahead of it. And I couldn’t do it without all the people who have been helping me make it happen … I’ve been very, very lucky in that respect. I feel like we’re making it work — we’re turning out good product, and making good shows, and they’re entertaining, and people seem happy, and that’s more than I could ask for.

Is it ever a struggle to keep a show fresh after so many seasons?

On NCIS, as we wrap up season 12 and move into season 13, I’ve always said that the one thing I look for is, when I come back from hiatus, and we’re starting a new season, and you sit down with the writers in the writer room, are the ideas going to be flowing? To the credit of all of the writers that I work with, I’ve yet to experience a return to writing where they aren’t just bubbling over with enthusiasm and ideas, things they’ve come across. I feel like, when the day comes that those ideas are slower in coming, then we’ll know that we have to start to think a little differently. But everybody’s still running on all cylinders, and the enthusiasm and excitement are there. It’s really a treat.

What are your thoughts on the current state of procedurals as a genre? Do you worry about there being too many similar shows on the various networks?

I’m not a believer that there’s a finite world of mystery. I’ve been a colossal mystery fan for a very long time, going back to Columbo and McMillan & Wife and the shows that I grew up on. Do I think that the genre has a sort of limit to it? No, I really don’t. I think it will continue to evolve. I think that there are times when you are doing a crime story where you can have humor, and there are times when it’s straighter and darker. I’m excited by where [the genre] is, and I’m excited by the amount of television that’s out there, and stuff on cable and stuff on network. It’s a terrific time to be in TV.

NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Question: After the episode where Gibbs’ and Fornell’s ex-wife was shot, will NCIS address what happens to her child with Fornell? —Joy
Ausiello: As a matter of fact, the Feb. 17 episode, titled “Cabin Fever,” will deal with many of the reverberations of Diane’s tragic death — as felt by the men in her life as well as daughter Emily. “There are some really brilliant moments between Mark Harmon and Joe Spano, as they spend some time in Gibbs’ cabin and hash out some of the issues they’re both facing because of that loss,” showrunner Gary Glasberg previews. “And Emily makes an appearance too — it’s all part of what Fornell is carrying right now. He’s having trouble, and Gibbs is there as a friend.”

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Exactly a year-and-a-half after the news first broke that she and NCIS were parting ways, Cote de Pablo has answered many burning questions about Ziva’s “rushed” exit storyline, the “outpouring of love” she felt from fans and whether she’d ever return to the CBS drama she called home for eight years.

Following her appearance at the Television Critics Association winter press tour — where she was promoting the upcoming CBS mini The Dovekeepers — de Pablo said that after her break from NCIS, “I took a couple of months off, and my entire family came over which was really great. They knew that it was a tough transition for me, and within three-and-a-half months I had an offer,” for the Chilean miner biopic The 33.

“For the most part I have had incredible opportunities knock on my door — I have read them, I have been not quite interested,” she said. But The 33 afforded her both an opportunity to return “home” to Chile and work with “incredible people” including Juliette Binoche, Antonio Banderas and Gabriel Byrne. “I thought, ‘My god am I ready for this?’” de Pablo relates. “And I was ready.”

Invited by TVLine to reflect on and assess her NCIS exit storyline, which was folded into the first two episodes of Season 11, de Pablo admitted, “I think it was rushed. I would have liked a little bit of closure. But I think all in all I could not be more blessed, because I got a chance to be with my ‘love,’ Michael [Weatherly, who plays Tony]. Any time you put Michael and I together there’s going to be a spark, and there’s going to be real honesty, and for that I am forever grateful. Because in that sense there was a sense of conclusion as far as what [the characters] felt for each other.”

As such, and given that she got much-needed personal time, de Pablo attests that she has “no second thoughts” about ending her NCIS run. “I’m very happy with my choices. I spent time with family, which was incredibly important for me. I’ve had time to deal with me, which I couldn’t really do for a long time, so I’m blessed for that.”

Of course, a chunk of the NCIS fanbase reacted strongly to losing de Pablo and Ziva, with an “ouptouring of love” she says was “humbling.”

“When you make decisions like this, you never expect for people to fully understand,” she added. “So it was really delicious to feel that kind of love and I’m always grateful for that.”

So, might she one day reprise her role as Ziva, even on a one-off basis? “I think the fact that they never killed the character off is very telling,” de Pablo noted with a smile. “Under the right circumstances, I think it could definitely be explored.”

As for locking into another series regular TV role, de Pablo let out a hearty laugh before telling TVLine, “I’m not sure if I’m ready to sign a 6- or 7- or 8-year deal. I did a long run [on NCIS] and it was remarkable and I learned a lot.” That said, she’s game “if it was the right story. If we could keep up telling a really good story, that’s the most important thing if you’re an actor.”

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