This Tuesday at 8/7c, CBS’ NCIS kicks off a two-part trip to New Orleans, where it will introduce viewers to another team — one headed up by TV vet Scott Bakula — and hopefully pave the way for a new spin-off to premiere this fall. NCIS boss Gary Glasberg, who developed the prospective off-shoot with Mark Harmon, shared with TVLine a preview of the Big Easy adventure, as well as updated us on the status of the mothership’s Season 11 finale, which needed to shift gears in the wake of a real-life tragedy.

TVLINE | First, tell me the genesis of this spin-off idea. Am I right that it just started off as, “Hey, maybe we’ll set an episode in New Orleans…”?
I always sit down during hiatus and talk to Mr. Harmon about the ideas that I have for the coming season, and this started off as what was originally just going to be a sweeps two-parter. He looked at me and said, “We should do this as a spinoff,” and next thing I knew we were going in with a very colorful pitch that involved music and imagery and all kinds of stuff, and people got excited, and here we are.

TVLINE | When you talk about the music and imagery — and in the promos we see Bakula doing some form of an accent — is there a fine line to toe, between giving the episodes a distinct flavor and possibly brushing up against what some people might feel is parody?
I hope it doesn’t feel like parody. At the end of the day, the city of New Orleans is a huge part of what drew us to the idea and why we wanted to do it in the first place. We want to treat New Orleans like a character, and that was why we wanted to shoot on actual locations, and in the French Quarter, and really make an effort to depict it as best we could.

TVLINE | So if it goes to series, where are you going to film it?
You know, I’m not sure yet. It really comes down to the network and the studio and business, and there are lots and lots of influences. But I feel like no matter what, you have to spend a certain amount of time [filming] down there in order to make it work, in order to continue to inject the color and the flavor that we’re trying to capture in the story.

TVLINE | Now, who on Gibbs’ team Crescent Cityalready knows Bakula’s Agent Dwayne Cassius Pride?
It’s suggested that there’s a really strong tie that goes all the way back to Mike Franks. Gibbs and Pride were probies under Franks and a group of other agents — they were referred to as the Fed 5 — and this Agent McLane, who had become a Congressman since, ends up getting killed, and that’s the genesis of the story.

TVLINE | Who all goes on the field trip, who doesn’t and why?
A tremendous portion of this story happens in Washington, so I needed really significant anchors in both places. So Tony and McGee and Fornell and Vance hold down the fort in Washington, while Gibbs pulls Bishop along [to New Orleans].

TVLINE | What’s the bullet on the members of Pride’s team — Agents Christopher Lasalle and “Merri” Brody, and Dr. Loretta Wade?
Lasalle, played by Lucas Black, in my mind is kind of “Alabama’s Steve McQueen.” He handles himself with a fantastic degree of calm and ease, he’s terrific with the action Crescent Cityand he’s a lot of fun. Brody, played by Zoe McLellan (JAG), is confident and cool and direct and strong. CCH Pounder (The Shield) is just a natural [as Wade]. She comes onscreen and you listen to every word she says. And then to have Scott Bakula as Pride, with his appeal and warmth and fun…. I couldn’t honestly have asked for much more in terms of a group.

TVLINE | How would you say Pride differs from Gibbs?
Oh, they’re incredibly different. Pride doesn’t hide his feelings in any way. There’s no wall going on there in terms of what he’s thinking, what he wants to do. It’s all very much on the surface, and there’s an accessibility and a fun to him that Gibbs doesn’t show. So although, in theory, the characters kind of grew up at the same time, they’re very, very different people. Also, Pride is married and trying to work out some issues with his wife (Person of Interest‘s Paige Turco), which is very real in the world of NCIS.

TVLINE | Now looking ahead to May, how is the season finale shaping up? Last time we spoke, you thought it might be Tony-centric-ish. But then Ralph Waite passed….
You know what, the penultimate episode is a fantastic story for Tony that actually sends him to France, and we’re really excited about that. It’s sort of a Three Days of the Condor story that is action-packed and fun with lots of twists and turns. And that leads us into the finale, which I’m co-writing with Gina Monreal, and although it has a significant crime story happening, that honestly turns out to be our homage to Ralph Waite, to Jackson Gibbs. Mark has been talking about it and invested in it since the day we got the news, and it’s important to us to give Ralph Waite the farewell he deserves.

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CBS’ NCIS has enlisted TV vet Kelli Williams to guest-star in an upcoming episode that will explore the issue of sexual assault in the Navy.

“It’s a really important episode for us,” showrunner Gary Glasberg tells TVLine of the installment, which has already been filmed and is now being edited. “I’m very pleased with how it’s turning out.”

Williams — whose previous TV credits include Army Wives, Lie to Me, Men in Trees and The Practice — plays an NCIS agent in the episode, which will be the second one to follow the imminent two-week NCIS: New Orleans planted spin-off (premiering this Tuesday at 8/7c).

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What is going on with NCIS‘ Jimmy Palmer? It seems that the show has toned down his involvement this season. –Sherry
Show boss Gary Glasberg reminds, “We’ve had this [storyline] runner that we started, about his personal life and his wanting to adopt. That’ll continue through the season,” ultimately leading to “an emotional bit of closure.”

I’m curious, will we see Tony’s apartment again soon on NCIS? –Cheryl
As a matter of fact, yes – in Episode 17, Glasberg says.

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With the new team dynamic on NCIS, Tony really looks overqualified for his job. He’s been there forever. As part of his promised “growth” are we going to see him get a promotion? –Sandra
OK, so I brought to showrunner Gary Glasberg everyone’s concern about Tony’s “growth,” especially as Ziva’s exit grows farther and farther away. He avowed, “It’s really important to all of us — it’s important to me, it’s important to Michael Weatherly — that the character of Tony DiNozzo continues to grow.” But outgrowing Gibbs’ team likely will never be a part of that. “That’s something that we at one point or another talk about…. But at the end of the day, as I have learned from real agents that I’ve spoken to, once you find a team that you feel comfortable with, that’s just where you stay,” Glasberg explained. “You become a part of the family, and that’s just what it is.”

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Question: Any scoop on what’s next for Tony on NCIS? –Laura
Ausiello: If you’re among those concerned that DiNozzo will rush into a grand new romance, with Bishop’s pop culture-savvy NSA pal Sofia Martinez, you needn’t be. “I don’t think his next relationship is going to happen anytime soon,” show boss Gary Glasberg tells us. “Part of letting Tony be Tony and letting him be flirtatious and talk to women is that these women don’t really matter. They’re quick encounters that he’s having; it’s not Ziva. They’re not ones that count. Eventually, will there be another [great love]? Maybe.”

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LOS ANGELES – The death of a friend will bring NCIS special agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon) in contact with the head of the agency’s New Orleans office, providing the connection for a two-part episode that’s a tryout for another spinoff of TV’s top-rated series.

“The lead character that runs the New Orleans office is a friend of Gibbs from back in the days of” the Naval Investigative Service,” the law-enforcement agency’s earlier name, executive producer Gary Glasberg says. The victim, a friend of both men, was also an agent.

The two episodes, scheduled for March, could lead to a third NCIS series. NCIS: Los Angeles started as an episode of NCIS, which is set in Washington, D.C., and the two have become a Tuesday ratings powerhouse. NCIS: Los Angeles last year tried its own spinoff, NCIS: Red, but it was not picked up as a series. CBS will decide whether to go forward with this latest potential spinoff by mid-May.

Glasberg has finished writing the two scripts and is planning another trip to Louisiana to scout locations and do other preparatory work. Much of the filming will take place on the NCIS soundstages north of Los Angeles, but he expects to do four or five days of shooting in New Orleans.

“We’re going to try to highlight as much as we can, from the bayou all the way into the music clubs. The show is going to have a really significant music backbone. I really want to capture as much of the city as I can,” Glasberg said. “It’s such a rich backdrop that it almost becomes another character in the show.”

Harmon, who shares executive producing duties on the new project with Glasberg, will travel to New Orleans for filming, but Glasberg is not sure which other NCIS stars will go to the Crescent City for the spinoff episodes.

Casting has just started for the four main characters. Characters include Gibbs’ friend, an older, established agent with the last name of Pride who runs the New Orleans NCIS office. A casting description says he is “charismatic and full of life … but can be rock-solid and strong when needed.”

Glasberg says Pride “has two people under him, a woman from a different office in the Great Lakes who comes down temporarily, and a man working with him who’s from New Orleans, a former sheriff’s deputy turned NCIS agent,” and describes . their teasing relationship as similar to the one between the lead characters on Moonlighting.

The woman, whose last name is Brody, is “no-nonsense … a government-employee facade on an Ivy League mind (and) Grace Kelly-like in her class, pomp and circumstance,” while the man, whose last name is LaSalle, has “been through some rough times,” according to the casting description. The fourth character is an outspoken female medical examiner.

A retired NCIS agent who ran the New Orleans office for more than 20 years has been a great resource during preparation for the episodes, Glasberg says. “He has been very accessible to me and terrific to spend time with and it’s been great.” And besides having a unique character that makes it a desirable setting for a TV series, New Orleans makes sense in terms of its close connection to the military.

New Orleans “has its own sensibility, its own style, its own energy, and there’s a tremendous Navy and Marine presence there, all the way from Pensacola, (Fla.) around the Gulf (of Mexico) and into Texas.”

As for how much shooting would take place in Louisiana if the spinoff episodes led to a new series, Glasberg says, “That’s still kind of up in the air. But we would definitely do some significant filming there. It’s just a matter of how much.”

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A second goldfish is nice and all, sure, but why isn’t NCIS‘ Tony keeping Ziva in his life in a more literal way, either through Skyping (on an encrypted line, of course) or any other technology available to him?

“A lot of people have approached me about the idea of not shutting the door entirely on [their staying in touch], and I’m not opposed to it,” showrunner Gary Glasberg told TVLine at the Television Critics Association press tour on Wednesday, when we asked if the CBS drama might ever suggest that Tony (played by Michael Weatherly) is finding ways to communicate with his ex-colleague (former cast member Cote de Pablo). “But it has to be done in a way where it feels organic to the storytelling and we’re not just throwing in lines about Ziva here and there.”

For example, “If Tony’s in a personal relationship or there’s something significant happening for him and he wondered how she would respond, then maybe we can figure out a way to do it. It’s a valid issue to bring up.”

But anyone asking for “Tiva” to somehow live on, even off camera, and for Tony to grow as a person/agent, is in a way suggesting two mutually exclusive things.

“Every time we bring her up, for Michael [Weatherly] and for Tony, it pulls him back to being in that relationship again,” Glasberg explained. “So its a tricky balance.

“We’re as sensitive to him moving forward post-Ziva as the rest of the world is,” Glasberg also said, because doing so “gives him the opportunity to grow and try things and meet people and move on.”

Addressing NCIS‘ other hot topic, Glasberg said he is “really proud” of the decision to catch McGee’s new girlfriend Delilah (recurring player Margo Harshman) in a bomb blast, leaving her paralyzed.

“Sometimes I walk into the writers room and I say to them, ‘We’re going to do something,’ and they look at me like I have six heads, and one of those instances was I wanted this bomb to go off — similar to some of the tragic stories that I saw after the Boston marathon…. I remember seeing a piece about a bunch of [female victims] who had managed to start to pull their lives back together again, and I wanted to try to capture some of that on our show. “The intent is to show a really smart individual take control of her life and rise up after all she’s been through. We’re excited about the arc that character is going to face as someone in a wheelchair.”

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Tuesday night’s episode of NCIS introduced a storyline that’s going to see one of the characters — DOD employee Delilah Fielding — learning to live her life as a disabled person. On Wednesday, executive producer Gary Glasberg revealed that the arc was inspired by the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings.

“I remember seeing a piece on I think it was the Today show about a bunch of women who had really managed to start to pull their lives back together again,” Glasberg told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour. “I wanted to try to capture some of that on our show. So the intent was — and is — to show someone who comes from a government background involved in something tragic like this and manages to persevere.”

In the latest episode, which was the conclusion of a two-parter, it was revealed that McGee’s (Sean Murray) girlfriend Delilah (Margo Harshman), who had been severely injured in a bombing at a gala at the end of the previous episode, was now paralyzed. Subsequent episodes, said Glasberg, will show Delilah taking “control of her life and [rising] up after what she’s been through.”

“We’re very excited about the arc of what that character is going to face as someone in a wheelchair and how that’s going to be portrayed,” he said.

As for McGee, who was devastated by the news, “it’s a psychological challenge,” Glasberg said.

Back in April, three people were killed and more than 250 were injured after two bombs detonated at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

NCIS is currently prepping to go into production on its 250th episode, which will air in late February. That month will also see the return of R.J. Wagner, who plays father to Michael Weatherly’s Anthony DiNozzo.

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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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