Into the life of an NCIS fan, a few torpedoes must fall. The latest one came this summer, when Cote de Pablo announced she was leaving the U.S. naval drama after eight seasons.
Fans grieved in the predictable way: First denial, then anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance that the actor who played Agent Ziva David would be seen no more.
Three weeks ago — after a proper two-part sendoff in which Ziva finally locked lips with Tony (Michael Weatherly) — we met Ziva’s replacement. Enter NSA analyst Ellie Bishop, played by Emily Wickersham, whose TV credits include The Sopranos and the FX drama The Bridge.
Ellie is the type of gal who likes the chaos of working on the floor. The Midwesterner remembers almost everything she reads, wears a wedding ring but won’t talk about it, and is a lone wolf — if wolves wore distressed jeans and had manes of tousled blond hair.
She’s the anti-Ziva, if you will.
“My first day here, I was really, really nervous and intimidated,” Wickersham told the New York Post. “When I get nervous, my heart races and I talk more than I usually do. This is a big, big thing.”
That’s because NCIS is big, big business. A spinoff of JAG, the 11-year-old CBS series regularly draws 20 million U.S. viewers and boasts an ensemble cast with more chemistry than your average high-school science lab.
In this week’s episode — the first after a post-November sweeps hiatus — the NCIS team discovers a link between a murder victim and the current boyfriend of Gibbs and agent Fornell’s ex-wife. Meanwhile, Ellie adjusts to her new co-workers and job.
“You always worry a little bit about what’s going to happen,” Sean Murray (Timothy McGee) told the Post.
“But it’s also taking a brick out of the wall. You want to make sure the new brick is going to slide right in there nicely.”
Mark Harmon, who plays Leroy Gibbs, the silver-haired leader with a heart of gold, seems confident the fit is right.
“From day one, she was part of this,” he said of Wickersham. “Her name was painted on a parking space from the first day she arrived. And the name on her dressing room was not a piece of tape. Now that she’s here it’s like, great, onward.”
Despite some fans who haven’t yet taken to Wickersham — her character’s too quirky or nerdy, they claim — most seem to be optimistic about the post-Ziva NCIS. After all, Ziva herself was a replacement for Agent Caitlin Todd (played by Sasha Alexander). The show has survived the loss of agency director Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly) as well.
“At the end of the day, it’s not so much about reinventing or doing anything that different,” showrunner Gary Glasberg told TVGuide.com.
“NCIS is still NCIS. All of the dynamics are there. … The vibe of the show is the same, the chemistry is the same, the tone is the same. It’s just that we’ve got this new character and she brings something new to the party.” 8 p.m., Global, CBS
Three to see
• It’s that time of the year again — a parade of fat-free women will wear uncomfortable-looking underthings while loud music plays at The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
The pre-taped broadcast features performances by Taylor Swift, Fall Out Boy, A Great Big World and Neon Jungle. 10 p.m., Global, CBS
• After the shocking death of Clay (Ron Perlman) last week on Sons of Anarchy, the biker drama wraps up its sixth season with the episode A Mother’s Work.
Teaser photos are set at the jury table in SAMCRO’s makeshift clubhouse, and a clip shows Jax saying, “We do what we have to do.”
Start your engines. 7 p.m., Super Channel
• Trophy Wife, one of the most watchable new comedies of the season, rolls out its Christmas episode.
Pete, Kate, Diane and Jackie wake up Christmas morning hungover with the house in complete disaster — and they can’t remember how it got that way. 9:30 p.m., CTV, ABC
