NCIS: Tony & Ziva ending after one season does not necessarily close the door on character-focused NCIS spinoffs. This article considers whether Nick Torres and Ellie Bishop could lead a new series, drawing on their shared history, undercover experience and unresolved connection.

NCIS: Tony & Ziva, the Paramount+ spinoff that brought Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo back to the franchise, combined romance, drama and thriller elements. Its story also centered on Tony and Ziva raising their daughter, Tali, in Paris, giving the series a family-drama dimension alongside its international threats. Although fans welcomed the reunion, the story felt contained rather than built to continue indefinitely, and the series ended after one season.

NCIS season 24 brought Tony back as the new director of NCIS, separating him from Ziva and Tali for the time being. The franchise is still developing character-driven stories: Nick Torres has revisited his darker past, while NCIS: Origins has brought Ellie Bishop back into the story. Their intersecting arcs create a possible foundation for a spinoff centered on an unresolved relationship and undercover work.

How do Torres and Bishop’s current NCIS stories set up a possible spinoff?

Nick Torres and Ellie Bishop have storylines that could support a darker, undercover-focused NCIS spinoff. In a recent NCIS season 24 episode, Nick revisited his past as undercover operative Dante Navarro, reconnecting with a more dangerous side of himself. Ellie’s departure at the end of NCIS season 18 also changed her path: she chose undercover work over her established role with the MCRT.

Ellie’s return to NCIS included a brief kiss with Torres, signaling that their relationship was not simply professional or platonic. In NCIS: Origins season 3, Ellie is closer to Nick’s world and is enlisted by Tony to help Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon. Their shared history and separate undercover paths keep the characters connected across the franchise.

Bringing Torres and Bishop together again could advance both their relationship and a story about undercover work. Their unresolved connection gives a potential spinoff a personal thread, while their darker professional histories offer a distinct case-driven premise.

Could a Torres and Bishop spinoff fill the gap left by NCIS: Tony & Ziva?

A Torres and Bishop spinoff could retain the character-centered appeal of NCIS: Tony & Ziva while taking a different tone. Rather than repeat Tony and Ziva’s family and international-threat storyline, a new series could focus on the pair’s undercover work, complicated past and uncertain future.

A Torres and Bishop spinoff could give the characters room to develop their relationship while expanding their histories beyond what the flagship series has shown. The central draw would be seeing how their past shapes their present, with undercover assignments providing a framework for the story.

NCIS: Tony & Ziva balanced co-parenting with international threats. A Torres and Bishop series could instead take a darker, more detached approach, using the characters’ undercover experience and lack of a shared family storyline to distinguish its tone.

How could a Torres and Bishop spinoff benefit the NCIS franchise?

NCIS has built a franchise around spinoffs, but some recent series have ended or changed course. Following the cancellations of NCIS: Hawai’i and NCIS: Tony & Ziva, NCIS: New York and NCIS: Origins occupy distinct places in the wider franchise. A Torres and Bishop series could explore undercover stories through two established characters whose arcs are already moving in that direction.

Wilmer Valderrama has said that a Torres-centered project is not likely to be in development currently, while also noting that NCIS season 24 leaves room for significant changes in Nick’s story. His comments do not confirm or rule out a spinoff. Valderrama has also spoken positively about the connection between Nick and Ellie.

A series that reunites Nick Torres and Ellie Bishop could bring their undercover skills and unresolved history into one story. That approach would give the franchise a distinct character-led premise, but the possibility remains an idea rather than a confirmed project.