It looks like NCIS season 23 is going to give us some much-needed looks into Parker’s past as he hunts for his dad’s killer!
NCIS fans are still reeling from the NCIS season 22 finale. Parker (Gary Cole) had been forced to aid mobster Carla Marino (Rebecca De Mornay) in stopping a terrorist bombing. It turned out Carla was behind the plot and wanted revenge for Parker causing the death of her son years ago. The episode ended with Parker coming home to find his father murdered and believing Carla was responsible.
That sets up the NCIS season 23 premiere as executive producer Steven D.Binder shared with TV Insider about how the team is being ordered to keep an eye on Parker and ensure he doesn’t go rogue. Notably, Binder emphasizes this isn’t one of those times when Vance gives the team orders and then a “wink-wink, nudge-nudge” to let them go ahead; for reasons to be revealed, he has to be serious about ordering them out, which will affect his relationship with Parker.
Nonetheless, the team will help Parker in some way, while we’ll also meet his sister, Harriet, a Vice Admiral played by Nancy Travis. This also leads to a look at Parker’s past!
What was Parker like when he was younger before NCIS?
We’ve had hints of Parker’s past and the NCIS season 23 premiere will focus on them with flashbacks to 1977 showing a much younger Parker (Harrison Leahy), along with his relationship with Roman (Mark Lawson) and his sister Harriet (Alex Nisenson). It will show how Parker was a rough kid, constantly getting into trouble, being arrested, and breaking the rules. That’s a contrast to the Parker of today, which serves as a mirror to his sister, as Binder told TV Insider.
“The dynamic between Parker and his sister [Nancy Travis] as adults is going to revert to the dynamic between them when they were [younger]. Alden Parker is a competent former FBI, current NCIS agent who seems pretty squared away. His sister was the good child. He was causing a lot of problems for himself, for their family, for their father, which is a regret he has now. If you’re a family member, his actions have gotten dad killed. Take that dynamic from childhood and bring it to the present with a brother and sister, and sparks are going to fly.”
Binder shared that “we feel like this storyline is nearing its conclusion, and we are going to hasten that,” indicating the hunt for Clara will be wrapped up in the two-part premiere. The show will then move to more arcs, such as McGee getting a big change for his family, Torres dating, Jessica picked for NCIS Elite, and focuses on Kasie and Palmer. We might also get a follow-up to whatever Palmer discovered in the file about Parker’s mother.
The focus on Parker and his past will be vital for the premiere as he tries to find justice for his father, which may risk his career. That will back a season Binder calls “a season that people can get emotionally invested in,” which is good news for NCIS fans.
NCIS, Season 23 premieres on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 8/7c on CBS.
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