As the new kid on the block on NCIS, Ellie Bishop is starting to find her footing with her new job assignment and colleagues — and the same can be said for Emily Wickersham, who portrays the quirky NSA agent.

“I love her awkwardness, and I love how smart she is,” Wickersham tells TVGuide.com about her character. “She totally lacks self-awareness, because she’s so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she’s kind of absent-minded. She’s so used to working by herself and thinking things through in her head alone. And so socially, I think sometimes that can kind of come off in an odd way, but it’s just that this is how she works.”

On Tuesday’s episode, “Kill Chain” (8/7c, CBS), the NCIS crew teams up with the Department of Defense to track down a stolen drone that links back to the terrorist cell Parsa. In doing so, Bishop crosses paths with Gibbs’ (Mark Harmon) ex-girlfriend, Hollis Mann (Susanna Thompson). “Bishop learns a lot about Gibbs’ ex-loves in this episode,” Wickersham teases. “It seems to be a recurring theme. There’s also a big moment that happens at the end that I can’t really talk about … that’ll have a long-lasting impact on the team members.”

Wickersham admits she was intimidated to come in as a replacement for Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), whose departure from the show earlier this season left many fans reeling. “Her work here was amazing, and I think they’re big shoes to fill,” Wickersham said of her predecessor. “So I was totally nervous. I still am nervous about it. But I’m excited to be here and to be a part of this team, and excited to work with them all.”

And as for Tiva ‘shippers who were rooting for a romance between Ziva and Tony (Michael Weatherly), Wickersham says they shouldn’t expect to see any sparks flying between Bishop and DiNozzo. “It’s definitely a very different relationship,” she says. “With Tony, it’s pretty brotherly. … There are some jokes cracked between the two, just like a brother and a sister would have. There’s sibling stuff happening.” (It’s also worth noting that Bishop is happily married, and her husband will be introduced in a future episode.)

Though Bishop is still working with NCIS on a temporary joint assignment with NSA, it’s a safe bet the character will be sticking around for a while, as Wickersham was upped to a series regular before she even made her debut. “We’ll see if she gets to join the team,” the actress says coyly. “I think it’s something that really excites her, being able to work as a team member. Growing up with three older brothers, she’s used to being around guys. And in terms of her relationship with Gibbs, I think he’s really a mentor and a fatherly figure to her. She really looks up to him in a lot of ways, and wants to do good in his eyes.”

Some fans are taking a while to warm up to Bishop, but Wickersham is confident that she’ll win them over eventually. “I totally get it,” she says of viewers who are still struggling with the new dynamic. “I think it’s kind of a weird thing when a new person comes in, but in terms of how Ellie Bishop is, I think she just wants to do well and she’s very driven, and she’s excited just to be a part of the team. I hope the viewers will embrace that and appreciate that about her.”

How are you feeling about Ellie Bishop on NCIS? Vote in our poll!

NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.

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CBS’ NCIS resumes Season 11 tonight at 8/7c with the renewed threat of terrorist Benham Parsa, whose handiwork first targeted Gibbs’ team in the fall premiere. As part of TVLine’s midseason preview special, we invited showrunner Gary Glasberg to tease what’s ahead, address some concerns about the team’s newest player and weigh in on NCIS: New Orleans casting ideas.

TVLINE | First, I have to comment on the “Devil’s Triad” episode featuring Diane Fornell’s return, which was funnier that two-thirds of the sitcoms on that week. And you’re doing this with the older members of the cast. Put Mark Harmon, Joe Spano and Melinda McGraw in a room together and they’re hilarious.
Yeah, they’re really good and they really enjoy working together. We know we can’t do that all the time, but it’s fun in between serious story lines to mix it up and have a good time. Mark Harmon has fun with it.

TVLINE | OK, because I was privately wondering as I watched these scenes — specifically when Gibbs gets uncomfortable because Tobias is talking about his sex life or naughty texts — if Mark enjoys all that or not.
No, he loves it. We’re 11 seasons into a show and it’s an opportunity to lighten it up for an episode and have some fun and see a different side of things. We recognize that it’s not a well that we can go to often, but once in a while it’s fun.

TVLINE | Will you be opening the second half of the season with some narrative momentum? Is it time to start zeroing in on a bigger through line?
Yes, and the Parsa story that we set up at the beginning of the year, the terrorist story, is going to all come back in a big way. Episode 12 is going to come out of the gate hot.

TVLINE | What are you doing with Hollis Mann in that episode?
Susanna Thompson is back as Hollis Mann on January 7 and she plays a big part in the investigation that’s going on, and then she has this huge backstory in these really terrific scenes with Harmon, with Gibbs. Their moments together are terrific, and apparently she had a great time coming back some 150 episodes later. I think that she wasn’t quite sure, after all this time, what we were going to have her doing, but she plays a really key role in how that story unfolds.

TVLINE | What all are you saying at this point about Episode 250 [which begins filming in late January]?
Well, you’ve got the return of DiNozzo Sr. [Robert Wagner] also did our 150th episode, which I didn’t even put together when we were planning it on the wall. There’s a new woman coming into the lives of the DiNozzo boys….

TVLINE | Tony Sr. has moved on?
Dad is spending time with someone, yeah, so it’ll be fun. We’re going to have a good time with it. [It brings] lots of questions and uncomfortable moments for Michael Weatherly[‘s character].

TVLINE | OK, because if the fans ever make one comment about the DiNozzo reunions, is that they’re always kind of huggy and there’s never much angst or any real issues.
This will be angst and lightness and fun and all the while, a crime going on at the same time.

TVLINE | One of our readers wanted to know if you will touch again on Tony and the support group he was going to….
That might come up again. Frank [Cardea] and George [Schenck] are actually going to write the 250th episode, so maybe in conjunction with that we can have some fun with that, since they’re the ones that brought it up to begin with [in the episode “Alibi”].

TVLINE | Last summer, pre-season, you teased that you had something percolating regarding Ducky. Is that still in place?
I don’t know. Probably when I said that, I didn’t expect the season to unfold quite the way it did as it has so far. If that happens, it would probably be something that we do toward the end of the season. That’s what we’re figuring out right now. But in the immediate future, no.

TVLINE | Any other specific beats you want to talk up?
Well, in “Kill Chain,” Delilah gets really involved again, so Margo Harshman is coming back and McGee’s relationship moves along a little bit further. I’ve been thrilled to have her and we’ve got some exciting things planned for that relationship. It feels real to us, we’re having a good time with it and people love to have Margo around. Then Wendy Makkena, who played Kate’s sister, Dr. [Rachel] Cranston, comes back in Episode 13.

TVLINE | Who is she going to be shrinking?
She comes back as part of what happens with the Parsa story. She sort of checks in with everybody and has some interesting insight and even comments. She knows all about the history of that desk and who sat there, and she has a really lovely scene with Bishop.

TVLINE | Let’s talk for a moment about Bishop and what must have been a balancing act in introducing her. Because you want to establish that this gal knows her stuff, but as I even saw in “Devil’s Triad,” there arguably are moments where she kind of shows up Gibbs – and that can rub people the wrong way.
That’s interesting, because we certainly didn’t mean it that way. You want to prove to people that she’s an asset, that she’s valuable to the team. But she shouldn’t come across as disrespectful in any way. She’s very much a part of this group. She has a specific talent and a specific purpose and if it feels like she’s steering them in any way, that’s the last thing we want. If people are responding that way, then believe me, we hear it and we’ll do everything we can to make it not feel that way.

TVLINE | Are we going to see any chinks in her armor? She’s been relatively perfect for an untrained agent so far.
Actually, you’ve got something really significant coming up once we come back after the holidays. She’s got faults just like everybody else.

TVLINE | Is it safe to say that Parsa will figure into your season finale?
No. But I would say that [sets in motion] a bit of a roller coaster ride for a good portion of the winter.

TVLINE | Do you know what your season finale is, then?
Actually, we just had a little meeting about it. We have a sense of where we’re heading but there’s a lot of work to do. And I have to write the two episodes of [the] New Orleans [spin-off pilot] before that.

TVLINE | When I reported on the roles you’re casting for New Orleans, I suggested Tom Welling (Smallville) for LaSalle and the readers went nuts. I also at one point tried to come up with a cast list that was all New Orleans-born actors, but I only got as far as Frederick Weller from In Plain Sight and Katherine LaNassa, who’s kind of busy over on Longmire.
I enjoyed that list. That was fun. I forwarded your article to our casting department and everybody said, “Yeah, those are all good.”

TVLINE | And then some fans say, “Bring back Joel Gretsch on the spin-off.” That Stan Burley could be one of the characters.
Well, that’s the fun part. I also saw a tweet from Diane Neal, saying how excited she is about New Orleans. All of those characters, they can all cycle through.

TVLINE | Even when I spoke to Rocky Carroll the other day, he was like, “I want to visit New Orleans.”
Well, he’s the director, so it’s very plausible and hopefully likely. I’m excited about the opportunities and as soon as we get the scripts done and we get deeper into casting and things start to happen, I’m happy to talk to you about it some more.

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Laying claim to the NCIS desk that someone else occupied for nearly 200 episodes — and on TV’s most watched drama, no less — was a “very big thing” for Emily Wickersham (The Sopranos, The Bridge). But based on the results of a TVLine reader poll and viewer reaction to date, the transition has gone as well as anyone could reasonably expect.

Though Wickersham never crossed paths with predecessor Cote de Pablo (“I would love to meet her someday,” she shares), she absolutely appreciates the significance of filling the void created in the wake of Agent Ziva David’s departure. As NCIS resumes Season 11 this Tuesday at 8/7c, TVLine spoke with Ellie Bishop’s portrayer about joining the CBS drama and soon exposing her character’s less-than-perfect traits.

TVLINE | After your first episode, we put up a poll asking readers for their first impression of Bishop. Seventy-eight percent either “love” or “like” her. Is that number pleasantly surprising for you?
Oh wow. Yeah. That’s really nice to hear. I know it’s a weird change for a lot of these viewers, so that’s really nice. I like hearing that a lot.

TVLINE | You’re surrounded at NCIS by people who have been on the show for nine, 10 years. Was there any advice as you kind of entered this lion’s den, this tricky transition?
I think everyone knew it was going to be a bit of a bumpy start, but the writing is so great here and the way they wrote Bishop was so wonderful. She’s not an intimidating character. She’s really excited to be here. She’s determined. She’s charming in her own weird ways. I think she’s non-threatening, which I hope comes across. You know?

TVLINE | Gary Glasberg told me that you “brought some fun stuff to the table” in creating the character. Such as…? Maybe the sitting on desks?
Oh, well that’s nice to hear. As I said, she was written so well, but from the beginning I set about finding those little quirks and looking for little things to bring out in her. So yeah, for example, sitting on the desk was something I did in the [audition] that was brought into each episode. Then they brought in the funny food associations, where she’ll remember what she was eating when she was studying certain facts, which I thought was quirky and cool.

TVLINE | What’s the sum total of her backstory that you know thus far?
Well, Ellie is from a big family in Oklahoma, a Midwestern girl…. We know that she is married, though we don’t really know much about Bishop’s husband yet.

TVLINE | Isn’t he a lawyer? Haven’t we heard or read that much?
I’m not sure what’s been revealed, to be honest, but it’s a storyline that I’m really looking forward to getting to know more about. I think it’ll be fun to see where Bishop comes from. She has three older brothers, Kill Chainwhich I think makes the transition to hanging out with the NCIS crew easier. She’s used to being surrounded “by the guys”….

TVLINE | …taking guff and teasing, that kind of stuff.
Yeah. Yeah. That’s been a part of her whole life thus far, so that comes easily to her.

TVLINE | Bishop has come off as a bit “perfect” so far, so I asked Gary if we’re going to be picking up on any faults of hers. He said there’s something really significant coming up after the holidays….
Oh, yeah. I know what he was referring to, but it’s something I don’t think I can talk about yet. For me, I think the faults in people are the most interesting and fun things to play. Like anyone, she’s got her weaknesses for sure. Even though she’s usually very on top of it, there are definitely weaknesses and faults that’ll pop out.

TVLINE | As an NSA analyst, her field experience has been an issue. Has she ever, like, fired a gun?
She’s gone through, with NSA, weapons and field training. That was actually something that I had to do before I started here. Our tech advisor, Leon Carroll, took me to the gun range. I had never held a gun in my life, so I was terrified.

TVLINE | Loud, right? My first time at a gun range, I was not quite prepared for that.
Oh my gosh, they’re so loud. I mean, you wear [ear protection], but I was so scared that the gun was like, going to turn around and shoot me. I mean, they are so powerful. But that kind of comes with the NCIS territory, so it’s definitely something to know about.

TVLINE | Well, she’s already helped apprehend a guy by hitting him with a car, so a gun’s almost a step down.
Exactly. I mean, she could just use the car as a weapon!

TVLINE | Lastly, what might viewers be surprised to know about NCIS‘ newest cast member?
Well, unlike my character, I’m very nervous. I mean, I guess Ellie was nervous about joining the team, but I was really nervous about joining NCIS just because it’s been around for a while. Coming into that was really intimidating and scary. I’m a nervous person, so that was a very, very big thing!

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Curious minds want to know: NCIS‘ Tony recently mentioned having to care for a second goldfish. We know what he named his original fish. Are we safe to assume what he named his new one? –Cheryl
You would be safe, indeed! “If you’ve got Kate on one side of the bowl, it’s only logical who’s on the other side…,” show boss Gary Glasberg teases. “You can guess what the other goldfish’s name is.” Rhymes with… Viva?

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I was wondering if you could give me any scoop on NCIS, preferably on McGee or on the return of Susanna Thompson as Hollis Mann. –Ted
I choose… the pretty lady. Show boss Gary Glasberg told me that in addition to playing a “key role” in the Case of the Week when the CBS drama returns on Jan. 7, Ms. Mann also “has this huge back story, in some really terrific scenes with Mark Harmon/Gibbs.”

Any chance we’ll see Wendy Makkena’s character back on NCIS this season? –Mel
As a matter of fact, yes, Dr. Cranston’s services will be needed come Episode 14. But why…?

I am looking to find a recording of the ending song from this week’s NCIS holiday episode. I thought it was beautiful –Joanna
“Nothing More,” by the group Alternate Routes, is available for 99 cents at iTunes — and all proceeds benefit newtownkindness.org.

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Question: Any scoop yet on a McGee-centric episode of NCIS? –Barb
Ausiello: Let’s see if this qualifies: In the first episode back from the holiday break, titled “Kill Chain” and airing Jan. 7, McGee’s girlfriend “Delilah gets really involved in the case, and her and McGee’s relationship moves along a bit further,” show boss Gary Glasberg shares. Of actress Margo Harshman’s latest encore, he adds, “I’ve been thrilled to have her and we’ve got some exciting things planned for her and that relationship continuing this season. It feels real to us and we’re having a good time with it.”

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Anything interesting coming up for DiNozzo on NCIS? –Mel
Fielding your query, show boss Gary Glasberg says, “Tony has had a year of real change and growth so far. Ziva said goodbye. Bishop said hello. Tony’s friendship with McGee got stronger and his bond with Gibbs wasn’t weakened by change, it was reinforced. And now, for a special 250th episode, Anthony DiNozzo Sr. (returning guest star Robert Wagner) will be back. And along with a riveting crime to solve, Tony will discover there’s a new mystery woman in his father’s life.”

NCIS‘ Michael Weatherly tweeted a while back that he was directing an episode this month. Do you have any spoilers/scoops about it? –Marla
As it would turn out, the operative words here are “a while back.” Says Gary Glasberg, “We were planning on that, but we decided to postpone it,” so that Weatherly and his wife could instead spend some quality time with their brand-new son Liam, born on Oct. 29. Weatherly’s next turn behind the camera is thus being rescheduled.

Great suggestions for NCIS: New Orleans actors. Tom Welling would be perfect as Agent LaSalle, and he needs to be back on TV. Is this a possibility? –Patricia
All I can confirm is that spin-off creator Gary Glasberg indeed saw my list of casting suggestions and, I quote, “enjoyed” it. So… I await my 10 percent?

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Any McGee scoop? I don’t feel like he’s gotten enough to do on NCIS lately.– Jacinda
“He’s going to play a really big part after the holidays,” EP Gary Glasberg assures me. “And Delilah’s still around. He’s got his work cut out for him in some stuff coming up.” And speaking of the holidays, you won’t want to miss the Dec. 17 outing. It’s a nail-biting hour that will find the team trying to crack the case of a strange outbreak occurring within military families. “It’s an Abby-centric story. So it’s Abby and Carol [Meredith Eaton] and Palmer really focused in the lab to try to focus on what’s going on,” Glasberg teases. There’s also a “really, really loving” story involving Vance, who is celebrating his first Christmas without his wife. Tissues, please!

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Question: Mike, Mike, Mike… What can you tell me about NCIS‘s 250th episode? —Marsha
Ausiello: Marha, Marsha, Marsha… I can tell you that someone from Gibbs’ past will resurface around the time of the CBS phenom’s landmark episode. Sources confirm to me exclusively that Susanna Thompson is set to reprise her role as Jethro’s ex, Hollis Mann, this January. And, show boss Gary Glasberg, teases: “She is coming back in an unexpected way.”

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