Sep 10, 2013 08:55am

That was quite a summer.

I had planned on picnics, barbecues and weekend staycations. I did not plan on the departure of Ziva David. We’ve been very busy for the last couple of months making this work and handling the situation with the utmost care and delicacy. Now I’ve finally “come up for air” and I wanted to reach out to you, the greatest fan base in the universe, and fill you in on what’s coming, how we are feeling about all this, and assure you we’re doing some really terrific work and feeling confident about moving forward.

Let me start by saying, “Thank you.” We genuinely appreciate your letters and emails. I know Cote’s decision was a shock to everybody. Us, too. But we need everyone to remember that, in addition to being a professional family, we’re a television show, and change happens. Writers move on. Actors move on. Life, for some, interferes with work and then we rise to the occasion and adapt. Very often, extraordinary creativity comes out of adjustment. And so we find ourselves not dwelling on the past, but eager to guide you into the future of NCIS. Eager to show you that Season 11 can be a rollercoaster ride of new stories. Eager to share our excitement and enthusiasm of what’s to come.

Two hundred and thirty-four episodes ago, many of you tuned in to watch the first NCIS, “Yankee White.” Well, no matter how long you’ve been on this journey, we appreciate your dedication more than you can imagine. You are the reason this cast and crew continue to work so hard. We consider all of you members of “Team NCIS.”

So let’s go back to the elephant in the room: the departure of Ziva David. Like I’ve said multiple times, we respect Cote’s decision immensely and wish her all the best. The amazing resolution you’re going to see is pretty damn heart-wrenching and we’re incredibly proud of it. Prepare yourselves for a moment in television history. Images that will end up in the archives. I couldn’t be happier with how my NCIS family stepped up and did some of the most emotional work we’ve ever done.

Watch with us. Experience with us. It’s okay to be sad. But, then, don’t forget what we’re good at. We like to make you smile. We like to rock your world and leave you on the edge of your seat. We like to show you what the greatest team of federal agents is capable of. And all of that will happen in Season 11. And, as you’ve come to expect with me, there will be some surprises along the way.

In addition to starting off with Ziva’s departure, plan on going back to Baltimore again with Tony. Plan on learning more about his past and his views of the future. Meet some other agents, different fun characters, as they pass through our world in funny and fascinating ways. Watch Gibbs connect with his father, Jackson, in a memorable and extraordinary story of bravery and valor. Experience a stronger Vance bounce back from tragedy and move on with strength and compassion. Watch Abby call on good friends to solve a challenging mystery. See the boundaries of Ducky and Jimmy’s relationship pushed as they face complicated decisions. And, on a lighter note, Tweeters will enjoy watching McGee explain to Gibbs what a “hashtag” is.

We’re enormously proud of what we’re doing and what we’re planning. We can’t wait to share it with you, so strap in and get ready for the ride.

“Grab your gear.” Here we go.

Gary Glasberg, Executive Producer

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Ziva’s Farewell

CBS has a new kind of Fan Award up this time around it’s called Fanticipate Fall. The categories this time are Can’t wait for more awkward moments with Parents, Can’t wait for this dynamic duo’s next adventure, Can’t wait for the next exciting reveal, Can’t wait for more sizzling chemistry, and Can’t wait for more laugh out loud moments. Tony DiNozzo and McGee are up for the Can’t wait for this dynamic duo’s next adventure. Click the link below and vote for them.

Actor Brian Dietzen (NCIS, Congratulations…) joins us on The Matthew Aaron Show this Monday (7/15) as we broadcast LIVE from Taste Chicago in Burbank starting at 4pm PT.

Brian will be joining us to discuss his career, the upcoming 11th season of NCIS and his new film CONGRATULATIONS, which he wrote and stars in. “Congratulations” will be available for download on iTunes July 30th.

You can listen to the interview Here

NCIS” star Cote de Pablo is leaving the cast of the CBS crime drama, the network confirmed.

The 33-year-old actress starred on the series for eight seasons, first joining the cast in 2005 during the show’s third season.

“We respect Cote’s decision, thank her for being an important part of the ‘NCIS’ team, and for eight terrific years playing Ziva David,” CBS said in a statement. “Cote and CBS share a great respect for the ‘NCIS’ audience, and we look forward to working with her and the producers on appropriate closure in this chapter of Ziva’s story.”

Her character, a former Israeli Mossad agent, was considered the most dangerous member of the team, even though de Pablo herself had never held a gun before taking on the role.

“The first day I ever went to the shooting range…they gave me the gun…and I thought ‘Oh God, be very strong because you don’t want to show them that you’re weak,’” de Pablo told Gayle King and John Miller on “CBS This Morning” in January.

“And I remember holding that gun and I was just trembling. And I just kept on saying just get it together.”

The Chilean-born actress has been seen as a positive role model for Latin Americans during her time on “NCIS.”

She won an Imagen Award in 2006 and an ALMA Award in 2011 for her work on the series.

De Pablo will make several guest appearances in the upcoming 11th season of the series in order to finish up the storyline of her tough-as-nails character.

“I’ve had 8 great years with NCIS and Ziva David,” de Pablo said in a statement. “I have huge respect and affection for Mark, Gary, Michael, David, Rocky, Pauley, Brian, Sean, all of the team and CBS. I look forward to finishing Ziva’s story.”

“NCIS” returns with new episodes on Sept. 24.

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I know Gary Glasberg has mentioned we will see the events that led up to the cliffhanger with Gibbs in the NCIS finale. But will we also get to see what McGee, Tony and Ziva have been doing in their four-month absence? I’m eager to see how they adapted to life outside NCIS and without Gibbs’s rules (particularly Rule No. 12). –Cheryl
If I’m any good at reading between Glasberg’s lines, viewers will be made privy to at least some of that when Season 11 arrives. “The season opener is going to take us from where we left off all the way up to the point where we’re seeing Gibbs,” he says, As for Tony, Ziva and McGee in particular, “There will be a portion in which they’re still resigned, and then it’ll develop from there. I don’t want to give too much away about the opener yet, but we’ll learn what happened with Tony and Ziva and McGee, I promise.”

I’m curious as to your thoughts on NCIS‘ baiting of “Tiva” fans without delivering. This season, especially, saw the showrunner pushing the notion of the couple becoming a reality, yet once again it did not happen. Even worse, [the finale] found them calling each other “friends,” the same label they applied to each other in Season 9′s “A Desperate Man.” Do you as a reporter find it difficult to see these things teased, when they never come fruition? Or do you think it’s just part of the game and “business as usual”? In addition, do you feel that at some point this bait-and-switch will impact viewership? –Dee
A very sound question, because as you note, I have long witnessed this to-and-fro as well. Quite honestly, I think NCIS and show boss Gary Glasberg face a tremendously difficult juggling act with this (would-be) couple because it is TV’s most watched program, and like a game of Jenga, you can’t be quite sure which slight move could send things toppling. Is NCIS No. 1 because it metes out exactly 25 milligrams of romance every third episode, and never a bit more? Is there a fear that going all-in with Tiva will soap up the show too much? Look at the comments sure to populate below; if one out of three is against the coupling, does that confirm the show would risk disenfranchising some 5 million viewers? (And if you do put them together, will the outcry nonetheless continue if “not enough” intimacy is displayed, a la Castle, presenting a no-win scenario?) All I can do on my end is press for some semblance of concrete evidence behind any loaded quotes (about any topic), then trust the show will follow through to some degree.

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Looks like on August 20th we’re getting the new Season 10 DVD set!

Check out the Special Features:

Audio Commentary with Gary Glasberg and Tony Wharmby
Audio Commentary with Michael Weatherly and Scott Williams
Audio Commentary with Pauley Perrette and Gina Monreal
Audio Commentary with David McCallum and Brian Dietzen
Deleted Scenes
Featurette: Death In The Family
Featurette: Mr. Carroll Goes To Washington
Featurette: 10 Items Or Less
Featurette: X Marks The Spot: A Look At Season X
Featurette: You Wear It Well
Featurette: Dinozzo’s Digs
Featurette: Ten Years Aft
Webisodes: Inside NCIS

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Question: I’m curious about NCIS‘ four-month time jump in the finale — will the show flash back to those intervening months when it returns this fall? —Jacob
Ausiello: Not sure if we’ll get actual flashbacks, but exec producer Gary Glasberg promises that “everything that happened that led up to Gibbs looking through that rifle will be explained,” adding, “All the pieces will fit together.”

Here’s the whole article from EW. (click to enlarge)

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