Cast members from NCIS ‘Cruze’ the carpet at the CBS Fall Premiere Party. (Brian D (Palmer) & Cote De P (Ziva))
In the season seven “NCIS” cliffhanger, the life of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ (Mark Harmon) father was in jeopardy when he was threatened by Paloma Reynosa (Jacqueline Obradors), the head of a Mexican drug cartel. And season eight picks up right where seven left off!
“We had two months off and we came back and we almost shot a bookend scene to what was the end of season seven,” Mark tells Samantha Harris, who is first on the set of the hit CBS drama for its eighth season premiere. “Half of the cast wasn’t here for that last scene when Jackson Gibbs (Ralph Waite) was in the store with Reynosa and that is kind of right where we pick up.”
Gibbs knows that he has to take desperate measures to protect the ones he loves with Reynosa on the loose, so he called his father and warned him to leave his store and spend the night somewhere else. But both Gibbs men are stubborn and his dad decided not to leave.
Mark won’t reveal whether or not his TV dad survives his encounter with Reynosa, only saying, “I sure like working with Ralph and I hope he will be okay.”
“NCIS” returns as the No. 1 scripted show on TV, which puts a little spring in the casts’ step.
Mark tells Samantha, “It is a nice place to be and we worked hard to get here. Now it is about trying to keep us here. I think everybody here still loves his job. That makes a difference.”
Pauley Perrette agrees, adding, “…it means to us that we get to keep doing this.”
So what else can we expect from the new season?
According to Michael Weatherly, who plays Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, “I would say you could expect on ‘NCIS’ this year the answers to some origin questions of some characters, I think we will see the return of Mr. Robert Wagner [who plays Tony’s dad]. I know you have got a bomb squad girl who is awful cute …”
But fans will be happy to hear that they will also be getting some answers to some of the series’ mysteries.
“A lot of things will get concluded in that first hour,” Mark tells ET. “[The writers] worked very hard to try not to draw that out as much as possible. I think that is a good thing. Now we are back telling stories that are conclusive about the characters.”
“NCIS” premieres its eighth season on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Pauley Perrette, who plays the resident forensic specialist Abby Sciuto on NCIS, graciously answered a few questions from Daemon’s TV about what fans can expect from this eighth season of NCIS and also gave up a few tidbits about her character including something we didn’t know about Abby. Enjoy!
NCIS is now entering its eight season. How does it feel to have seven successful seasons under your belt?
Pauley Perrette: Grateful, is how I feel. I’ll go ahead and say that Season 8 is so good that I can’t wait for the fans to see it! To be able to play the iconic character of Abby on a show where the entire cast and crew is still excited and in love with the show is a blessing that comes along… Like never. People always say it looks like we are having so much fun, and we are! It’s great. I’m grateful.
Last season ended with quite a cliffanger, can you tease anything about what we can expect in the season 8 premiere?
Pauley Perrette: The season 8 premiere, airing this tuesday, Sept. 21, starts with a BANG, gives everything the fans could hope for and more. Don’t miss a beat, a second… it’s all in there.
What can viewers expect for Abby for this season? There is talk of a potential backstory for her. Can you expand a little on that?
Pauley Perrette: I too would like an Abby back story. Only the writers and producers know what’s coming. The actors get the scripts just before we shoot them. There is an Abby Heavy episode the first week of November sweeps. Just finished it. I’m exhausted, but the fans will LOVE it!
Gibbs is famous for having rules. Does Abby have any rules of her own that we should know about?
Pauley Perrette: Abby is very tidy. Abby does not like anyone to touch her equipment. Abby believes in loyalty, honesty and for Gibbs to never break one of his rules. Abby and Gibbs are very similar in being rule oriented.
Tell us something about Abby that no one has ever asked you about.
Pauley Perrette: I don’t think there is ANYTHING people haven’t asked me about Abby. People around the world are kind of obsessed with Abby. It’s such a great and fascinating character. I can say that because I didn’t invent her, just have the honor of playing her. Maybe her shoe size? (10, by the way!)
Don’t miss Pauley Perrette in the season 8 premiere of NCIS which airs on Tuesday, Sept. 21 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Pauley Perrette Interview Source
New Promo with a few scenes from the new Episode as well as bit more telling you about the Season Premiere. Also promo has the promo for NCIS LA with it too..
The cast of NCIS have dropped hints about the show’s upcoming eighth season.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Mark Harmon promised that the new episodes are “exciting”.
“We’re doing different things,” he explained. “This writing group here always continues to challenge us actors.”
Pauley Perrette, who plays Abby, added: “The first thing the viewers can expect is that we’re delivering it from moment one when season eight opens. It just goes right out of the gate with a bang and it’s like, ‘Don’t miss the second’. It’s so good. And like I said, we were so excited. It’s been episode after episode after episode of awesome.”
Michael Weatherly, who stars in the show as Anthony DiNozzo, also revealed some details about the new season.
“This year [we have] the answers to some origin questions of some characters,” he said. “I think we’re going to see the return of Mr. Robert Wagner [who plays Tony’s dad]. I know that you’ve got a bomb squad girl, who’s awful cute. She shows up and she’s kind of remarkable.”
Meanwhile, Harmon also admitted that he is proud of the show’s success, saying: “It’s a nice place to be and we’ve worked hard to get here, but now it’s about trying to keep us here.”
The new season of NCIS begins on September 21 on CBS.