It’s a blow to the NCIS fandom as Paramount+ just canceled what was supposed to be the hottest new entry in the franchise. What happened to have this outcome?
NCIS may be one of the biggest franchises in television, but it’s no stranger to ending shows in the franchise. The Los Angeles and New Orleans spinoffs ended after respectable runs, while NCIS: Hawaii was shockingly canceled after its third season with little warning.
Now comes a bigger axing as Variety reports that Paramount+ has canceled NCIS: Tony & Ziva after just one season. The series had gotten a huge promotion by reuniting Michael Weatherly as Tony DiNozzo and Cote de Pablo as Ziva David years after both left the main NCIS series. That had a big romance amid some steamy action.
The two leads offered a joint statement on the series ending and how it felt returning to the parts after all this time.
“We feel incredibly lucky to have had the chance to play these characters once again and to tell the next chapter of Tony and Ziva’s story. Our deepest thanks go to our extraordinary cast, crew, writers, directors, and producers, and to our partners at CBS Studios and Paramount+ who helped make this dream a reality. But most of all, we want to thank the fans around the world who joined us on this adventure and finally got to see Tony and Ziva find their happily ever after.”
This ending comes after fans had waited years to see the pair on screen again. As NCIS fans know, Tony and Ziva had long had some good chemistry and banter. When Ziva was seemingly killed off, it was revealed that she and Tony had hooked up and had a daughter, with Tony leaving to care for her. Ziva later turned out to still be alive and would go to find him.
Having the two together on screen seemed a recipe for a great hit, expanding NCIS to Paramount+. So what happened?
Why was NCIS: Tony & Ziva canceled?
Per Variety and according to Luminate data, the 10-episode series started off solid for Paramount+, with 371 million viewing minutes in its first week. However, the numbers saw a sharp 51% decline over its first three episodes and fell lower each week.
The series itself was less NCIS and more an international spy thriller. It had the main couple separated as they raised their daughter Tali. When they’re framed for helping a terrorist attack, the pair are on the run across Europe while flashbacks show their initial reunion and what drove them apart again.
The show did indulge a bit too much in the freedom of streaming, with characters cursing and there were criticisms from some NCIS fans on the characters not feeling the same. Ziva was too shell-shocked while Tony was too joking and the pure spy plotline was a jump from the standard NCIS procedurals.
Another factor in the cancellation is the merger between Paramount and Skydance Entertainment, which is shaking up the TV production industry. The series ended with the main plotline wrapped up and no cliffhanger, so it could work as a limited series. Throw in the high budget of filming across Europe and Paramount’s decision to end the series makes more sense.
It does seem a letdown for this long-awaited reunion to come to this sudden end, yet some hope the main NCIS series could bring the characters back. As it is, the adventures of Tony & Ziva are done despite how much fans wanted more of them.
NCIS: Tony & Ziva streaming on Paramount+.
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