NCIS: Tony & Ziva - The spin-off series is lovable fan-service

The NCIS franchise, very popular in our country thanks to the free-to-air broadcast, between reruns and new seasons, of the various evolutions of the police saga, is well acquainted with the concept of spin-off and today here we are talking about the first show created exclusively for the streaming market. NCIS: Tony & Ziva lands in the Paramount+ catalog, presenting itself, even in its title, as an operation designed for fans of the two iconic and eponymous characters who made the history of the saga.

You don't need to watch it to fully understand what will happen in the next official season, and the very brief initial summary tries to compensate for potential gaps for those who missed a few episodes or for complete newcomers, although the latter might actually feel partially disoriented by the amount of information given in so few seconds. Colleagues and once lovers, the protagonists hadn't seen each other side by side for some time, and it is with pleasure that we find, with a few more years on their shoulders, Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo reprising their roles.

Tony & Ziva: Who doesn't die, reappears

Tony and Ziva both live in Paris, not together but as affectionate co-parents to their daughter Tali. He works as a security consultant, while she runs a language school. The situation takes an unexpected turn when Tony's company becomes involved in a dangerous criminal intrigue. Now Tali is in danger, and the ex-couple finds themselves collaborating to resolve the situation before it's too late, in a true race against time that will take them across half of Europe: a very personal mission, in which the romantic spark between them risks reigniting.

At the time of writing this article, only three episodes have been released, and it is therefore about these that we will speak. Each of them, moreover, begins with what is by all accounts an unexpected wedding: a few brief sequences in the present, and then the episode takes us one after another into the immediate past, with what happened in the preceding days to make those fake nuptials happen - and the fact that they are nothing more than a staged event is actually made clear from the outset.

A divertissement for the fan base

The narrative structure of NCIS: Tony & Ziva is flexible enough to maintain the typical procedural framework of the underlying franchise, with some hints of technological madness, as in the second episode where our protagonists must face an army of self-driving cars unleashed against them. But it is clear that the central element remains the couple, with romance often hitting the accelerator to force the sentimental reunion, amidst jealousy and unspoken feelings. And the implausibilities, of course, abound, all to emphasize the lighthearted spirit that characterizes the operation, whose nostalgic intent and pure fan service are evident from the very first shot.

And precisely in this sense, the chemistry between Weatherly and De Pablo has remained intact, despite the passage of time which, especially on her, seems to have left little mark. When the paths of their respective characters cross, those who grew up with the classic NCIS series will undoubtedly rejoice, and these first episodes, though much more frivolous and focused on entertainment compared to the original, will easily capture the tastes and affection of the main fan target.