NCIS: Tony & Ziva is a spin-off from the mothership NCIS series. Picking up 5 years after we last saw the characters of Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo). Tony and Ziva have both left NCIS, and have had an on-again/off-again relationship. For the past five years, they have been living in Paris, co-parenting their 12-year-old daughter Tali (Isla Gie). Ziva is working on opening a non-profit language school, and still seeing a therapist to help her with her PTSD, while Tony runs a security firm, Salus Mondiale Security Services. One of Tony’s clients is Interpol, where his friend Henry Rayner-Hunt (James D’Arcy) works.

One evening, a thief breaks into Interpol and manages to transfer out 122 million Euros before Tony’s Chief Technical Officer, Claudette (Amita Suman) manages to stop them, and obtain the “9.4” device that the thief was using to hack into the system and make the transfer. This powerful device can break into any system and has the potential to create a worldwide crisis. So it’s no surprise when whoever was behind the theft tries to use Tony’s daughter as leverage in order to reobtain 9.4. Only a handful of people knew that Tony was safeguarding the device, and so he suspects this was an inside job from someone at Interpol. After Tony & Ziva rescue their daughter, the thieves strike again, this time wiring money from Interpol into Tony’s personal account to frame him for theft and murder. Now Tony & Ziva find themselves with a red notice on their heads, and on the run, looking for a way to clear their names and prove who is really behind the thefts and prevent them from causing an international disaster.

Shockingly, I haven’t actually seen any episodes of the “mothership” NCIS series, but I still very much enjoyed this spin-off, NCIS: Tony & Ziva. The pilot episode does a nice job of bringing new viewers up to speed on the relationship and history of these two characters, before jumping right into the action. And throughout the season, the series constantly jumps back and forth in time to fill in the gaps of the 5 years between their time on NCIS and the present, often finding some clever way to tie the events of the past and the present together, whether that be a shared location, theme, or something else.

Unlike the more case-of-the-week style of the other NCIS procedural shows/spin-offs, NCIS: Tony & Ziva is much more serialized, following this one story over the course of the 10-episode season. Though there are still some more self-contained episodes, such as episode 6, “We’ve Got Company”, which primarily focuses on Tali and her babysitter Sophie (Lara Rossi) as their safe house comes under attack.

The series has this wonderful blend of action, drama and humor, and sets up this spy-thriller like storyline that plays out over the course of the ten episodes. In the first episode, Tony makes a meta comment about walking the line between techno-thriller and workplace comedy, and that’s very much the tone of the series. There are mysteries like who is behind all of this and who can they trust, but there’s also a lot of humor. Tony is constantly cracking jokes, and we also get a lot of comedy in the dynamics of his team. Early on in the series, Tony & Ziva recruit hacker/programmer Boris Peskov (Maximilian Osinski), the man who was hired to create the 9.4 device, to help them. There is this fun banter and competition between Boris and Tony’s CTO Claudette (Amita Suman) as they both try to prove they are smarter than the other. There’s also this fun parallel relationship as Boris is engaged to be married and Tony & Ziva see how he and his fiancée Fruzsi (Anne-Marie Waldeck) interact.

I was not familiar with these characters when I started watching NCIS: Tony & Ziva, but I loved the dynamic between Tony & Ziva. The actors have such amazing charisma and chemistry, and there is this fun playfulness between the characters. There is still a will they or won’t they going on as the couple is not really together at the start of the season. And through the constant jumps backwards to fill in the gap in their relationship, we start to see why they should or should not ultimately be together. The rest of the cast is also quite entertaining. Isla Gie does an excellent job of showcasing elements of both of her character’s parents. Tali has the wit and humor of her father, and the fight and drive of her mother. Some of the other recurring characters include Ziva’s psychologist Dr. Lang (Terence Maynard), and some more villainous characters who may or may not be good, Director of Interpol Jonah Markham (Julian Ovenden), fellow Interpol employee Martine Aranow (Nassima Benchicou), her minion Pierre Galimard (Emmanuel Bonami), and wealthy weapons manufacturer Aaron Graves (Sean Pertwee).

The series originally aired on Paramount+, and not CBS, so they were not beholden to network TV standards—the S- and F-bombs are dropped pretty quickly into the show. The series also has a more cinematic feel to it, and the international locales look quite beautiful. While the series was canceled after just a single season, the season does feel like it tells a complete story, and comes to a satisfying conclusion. It has also been announced that Michael Weatherly will be returning to the mothership NCIS series net season, so there will be more Tony DiNozzo in the fall, and it will be interesting to see how they go about getting him back with NCIS.

Paramount/CBS Home Entertainment has released the first/only season of NCIS: Tony and Ziva only on DVD for physical media, but it is also available on 4K digital. We were sent the DVD for review, which looks generally good, but it is missing that sharpness and clarity of an HD release. I wish Paramount would offer at least a Blu-ray for all modern series that air in 4K. That said, I quickly grew accustomed to the picture and it did not detract from my enjoyment of the series. The audio track provides clear dialogue throughout, and makes nice use of the surround channel to provide a full-sounding score and generally immersive feel.

The series’ 10 episodes are split across three discs, which are placed on trays in a standard-sized clear DVD keepcase, which is placed inside a cardboard slipcover. The discs also contain a nice assortment of bonus material, including 2 deleted scenes, 3 behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a gag reel.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (7:23:05)

• All ten episodes of the series on 3 discs:
  Disc 1 (2:57:53): “No Country is Safe”, “No Friend of Mine”, “Cover Story”, “Wedding Crashers”
  Disc 2 (2:55:51): “To Be Determined”, “We’ve Got Company”, “Dark Mirror”, “Fire Sale”
  Disc 3 (1:29:21): “Ride or Die”, “Full Circle”
• 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Surround
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
  Two deleted scenes can be found on the second disc:
  • “Dark Mirror” (2:02)
    Tony and Ziva lay in bed and talk about protecting Tali, before she barges into the room.
  • “Fire Sale” (2:13)
    In this flashback to November 2020, Ziva tells Tony that she can’t profess her love for him.
• NCIS: Tony & Ziva: A Global Affair (15:11)
  The cast and showrunner discuss how the idea for the spin-off came about, honoring the characters, how they have changed, joining as new characters, jumping around in time, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producer John McNamara, and stars Michael Weatherly (“Anthony ‘Tony’ DiNozzo”), Cote de Pablo (“Ziva David”), Isla Gie (“Tali DiNozzo”), Maximilian Osinski (“Boris Peskov”), Nassima Benchicou (“Martine Aranow”) & Julian Ovenden (“Jonah Markham”).
• Shooting Abroad (6:59)
  The cast and showrunner talk about filming internationally and shooting abroad in Budapest. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producer John McNamara, directors Valerie Weiss & Mairzee Almas, and stars Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo, Maximilian Osinski & Nassima Benchicou.
• A Dress Worth Waiting For (5:23)
  Costume designer Rebecca Duncan talks about creating the wedding dress worn by Cote de Pablo, and designing the dress to also be practical in stunt sequences. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producer John McNamara, and stars Michael Weatherly & Cote de Pablo.
• Gag Reel (5:08)
  Fun with the cast as they flub lines, make each other laugh, and just have fun on set.

Final Thoughts:

NCIS: Tony & Ziva is a fun and entertaining series, even for those who have not seen the mothership NCIS show and are unfamiliar with the characters. Rather than a procedural with a case of the week, the season tells one complete story across ten episodes. The show has a delightful mix of humor, action and drama, and it’s a shame it is not getting a second season. Unfortunately Paramount has only given the show a DVD release, which is not as sharp looking as a typical HD release. Though the season is also available in 4K digitally. The audio presentation fares better, and the discs also contain some entertaining bonus material, so it’s still a recommendation for fans.