I’m glad NCIS: Tony & Ziva will revive a franchise trope that NCIS has forgotten about. The flagship series neglected a vital element in season 21, possibly because it was shortened due to the writer’s strikes, but I’d say that’s all the more reason to include it. I’m excited to see the flagship return in the fall with NCIS season 22, but I’m even more excited to see what Tony & Ziva will bring to the table when it premieres. The official casting update divulges many details about what to expect from the series.
The series will return original Major Case Response Team members Ziva David and Anthony DiNozzo to the NCIS franchise in a spinoff series that centers on the former agents. NCIS: Tony & Ziva will focus on the titular characters as they are on the run across Europe, and the series will introduce many exciting firsts to the franchise. That said, I’m excited that they’re returning some elements that the flagship has included before, especially ones that offer the potential for more profound character development.
The Cast Of NCIS: Tony & Ziva Will Include A Therapist As A Series Regular
The Tony And Ziva Spinoff Cast Terence Maynard As Dr. Lang
The official Tony and Ziva casting announcement has been released, and many previously unknown details about the series have been revealed. I’m most pleased that the series will include a therapist as a regular character because the characters will need one to have significant conversations involving their unconventional start as a family. Specifically, the NCIS: Tony & Ziva cast includes Terence Maynard as Dr. Lang. The character is described as: “A deeply experienced therapist, gentle and probing,” who “treats patients with severe trauma and helps them find comfort and agency.” (via Deadline)
My initial take is that the therapist will help Tony, Ziva, and Tali establish trust. No character role is more fitting for the job. While it may only make a subtle difference in the narrative, I believe it’s a vital detail that differentiates the spinoff from any other NCIS series. While most include a medical examiner or forensic scientist to investigate dead bodies in NCIS, NCIS: Tony & Ziva will feature a doctor who can help people while they are alive.
How The Cast Update Revives A Potentially Forgotten NCIS Franchise Trope
Laura San Giacomo Portrayed Dr. Grace Confalone In NCIS
The casting decision officially revives a franchise trope that has been lacking. While the NCIS cast does include a therapist as a recurring character, she did not appear in NCIS season 21. Laura San Giacomo portrays Dr. Grace Confalone, a mental health professional, in the original NCIS series. The therapist appears in 12 episodes between NCIS seasons 13 and 20. She is not a retired character and could appear in NCIS again, but there’s no guarantee she will return. That said, I hope Laura San Giacomo does return as Dr. Grace Confalone in NCIS season 22.
Dr. Confalone occasionally appears to counsel members of the MCRT, like in season 19, episode 18, “Last Dance,” when Agent Nick Torres faces his relationship with alcohol in a session with the doctor head-on. Besides supporting the cast amid moments of grief or processing a case, Dr. Confalone also fulfills a necessary function: completing mandatory psychological evaluations for the MCRT. I hope she will return in season 22 since it will feature more episodes and that Dr. Lang lives up to Dr. Confalone.
Why The Tony And Ziva Story Will Benefit From A Mental Health Professional
Tony And Ziva Have An Unconventional Relationship
The actors have said the series will explore themes of trust. Tony raised Tali for several years under the assumption that her mother was dead. The family will likely continue to have complex conversations regarding beliefs, and a mental health professional can facilitate those conversations. The family had to work through complex trauma since Tony and his daughter believed that Tali’s mother was gone. While it was certainly exciting to have her back, the Tony and Ziva actors have teased Tali’s reaction in NCIS: Tony & Ziva involves trust – or mistrust – since Tali believed her mother was gone.
The best thing the franchise could have done in tandem with tackling Tony and Ziva’s complex narrative was to bring in a professional.
The best thing the franchise could have done in tandem with tackling Tony and Ziva’s complex narrative was to bring in a professional. Tali deserves to be able to talk about her struggles, and the adults in the narrative likely have things to discuss, too. Tony and Ziva’s NCIS romance was not straightforward in the series, with the characters circling dating one another for over 10 years. The fact that they had a daughter together is what brought them together, and I’d argue Ziva faking her death in NCIS also factors into the equation.
Ziva was raising Tali alone, and she might have continued to do so had Tony not had to step in. After Tony stepped up to raise Tali two years after Cote de Pablo’s NCIS departure, Ziva would return three years later, when it was finally revealed that she was alive. The most significant conversation the couple may have had over the years could regard the choice to be together. While Tony and Ziva are likely happy, they never conventionally dated, and their child brought them together.
What The Presence Of A Mental Health Professional Means For The NCIS Franchise
NCIS Is Taking Accountability
The family’s mental health is also rooted in the grave situations they face as federal agents and the traumatizing circumstances that arise from being in the line of fire. The presence of a mental health professional in the Tony & Ziva cast signals the franchise taking responsibility for telling a more complete story. I’d say it’s a promising trend for the franchise, which paints a fictional picture of the policing system with little to no accountability as to how that affects the public’s perception. The franchise should at least take responsibility for how its narratives affect those at its center.
Don’t think I’m not interested in action in the Tony and Ziva spinoff; I am. I just know it will be interesting to watch the characters confronting their demons. Professionals in situations like Tony, Ziva, and Tali’s can help the family separate their past trauma from how they are coping with their present. Still, I hope Tony and Ziva deliver on the action as much as any other NCIS series. They were two of the most fun agents to see operating on the small screen. Their NCIS return needs to include some danger.
I see including a therapist in NCIS: Tony & Ziva as a return to the franchise’s deepest roots. In many ways, the Ducky character was a therapist to the dead he encountered, trying to listen to his victims to understand their stories better. It was a significant aspect of who Ducky was, and I see including someone who can do that in the present in NCIS: Tony & Ziva as a step in the right direction for the franchise. It can take responsibility for honoring the graver narratives it sells while continuing to deliver all the NCIS action.