NCIS Season 10 kicks off September 25, and the premiere promises to be worth the wait.
Perhaps first and foremost among the many burning questions heading into the new season? What's next for Ziva and Tony, a pair whose chemistry has been off the charts since she was first introduced, but whose relationship status has sparked strong debate in recent years among the show's fan base.
Cote de Pablo (Ziva) recently spoke to Hitfix about her character and that very subject.
On the subject of whether Tony and Ziva will get together, she said:
"I don't know, but it's definitely going to be more explored. [Fans] want more things to happen between these characters. And I think the writers are on board, and they want more things to happen. And I think it will."
On where we pick up when NCIS Season 10 begins:
"Well, the cliffhanger is that we were stuck in an elevator. The bomb exploded and the next thing you know we're on the floor. Nothing else is seen. So, we have no idea what happened."
"The beginning of this year, we're still stuck in an elevator - you find us there - and we have a nice little bit in the elevator, which is so much fun."
On her on-screen chemistry with Michael Weatherly:
"Ironically, the writers just saw the chemistry between these two characters, and they were like, we've gotta do more of this, and Michael [Weatherly] and I jumped. Of course you have to do more of this! This is what we love to do, so hopefully they're going to have more scenes and explore that relationship more. It's always fun for us."
"We embrace it all, and whenever there is tension between the characters, Michael and I take distance from each other. We do; it just happens naturally. It just does. And whenever we have to be more connected, we just naturally come together. It's really funny. So right now we're getting together, and I think the writers are going, oooh, look at the chemistry there, and he and I are like, it's always been there. You just have to seize it. Always."