It’s the reunion fans have clamoured for! Cote de Pablo speaks with The TV Watercooler to discuss her highly anticipated return as Ziva David in the new Paramount+ original series, NCIS: Tony & Ziva. The actress shares that the project was a long time coming, waiting for the precise moment to launch a story that honours the characters’ past while building their future. She dives into the creative decision to focus on love and family over police work, the “magical time” of shooting in Hungary, and why the global reach of streaming makes this the perfect way to connect with the devoted “Tiva” audience.
You’ve had so much success with the NCIS franchise, you left and then came back for a bit. You are back again as Ziva with this project. Was it the right time and place?
Yes! It was the perfect time. We were trying to make it for a whole. It was always an idea. The moment I left NCIS and Michael Weatherly subsequently left, we always talked about it. Michael immediately went into doing another great show, Bull, which was very successful and was tied up. He was very busy, but he never let go of the idea of sort of getting these characters back together.
I think he enjoys playing Tony, and I think he has a lot of fun, you know, playing around with me and being silly – and being able to explore the dynamic of this relationship.
We knew we had to create a world where you had to explain part of the past, and from there, you needed to move on and built their present and carry them into the future.
Then, Mr. John McNamara came in and he was brilliant in trying to shape all of that.
Shooting this season was a very magical time.
What was filming in Europe like?
It was a dream. We were living in Europe for half of the year, so it was great!
Which cities were you in?
A lot of people don’t really know this, but we shot exclusively in Hungary. In Budapest. Budapest actually served as a backdrop for France, for Italy, and for Switzerland.
We then sent skeleton crews, including my stunt double running through the streets of Paris! That did actually happen but it just wasn’t me. So in essence, we did shoot in Paris, but Michael and I were very busy working in Budapest.
Looking at the logo, “NCIS” is so small while “Tony & Ziva” is in big letters. Does that speak to the appeal that it’s not about the naval force anymore, it’s about Tony and Ziva, and is it easier to attract a new audience that way?
I think the franchise is so big that they needed to identify what it was, or at least where it came from. You have pay homage, you know? But it is very different because it doesn’t live in the structure of the procedural. So, you take that element away and you sort of give the structure a little bit more freedom, to be able to express itself in an emotional way, which is the thing that Michael and I were always interested in.
We loved the characters, but we wanted the freedom to take them outside of the agency. So, we got a chance to do that, and we had a lot of fun.
How do you feel about the global presence it now has? Streaming vs. network, where audiences all over the world can watch episodes immediately as they premiere on the same day?
Talk about how much the industry has changed! That’s a luxury. It’s an incredible thing. We’re just so grateful that we got to do this. It’s for the fans. Every time Michael and I travel the world, independently from each other, every single time, we were showered with love. People really wanted to know what happened to Tony and Ziva.
But hopefully, what we get to do is make a show that is about love. And about family. A family sticking together and loving each other!
NCIS: Tony & Ziva streams on Paramount+.
