MCRT’s true replacement for Ziva David is about to have a tense reunion with Timothy McGee on NCIS season 23. CBS’s premier procedural has been on hiatus since mid-December, leaving viewers more than eager to find out what’s next after the fall finale’s cliffhanger. For context, Jessica Knight has been tasked to hunt down Ellie Bishop as her first ELITE team mission. This set up an incredibly interesting back half for the show.

After a lackluster last couple of years, NCIS is proving that it is close to finishing its ongoing rebrand in season 23. The 2025-2026 TV cycle has been interesting for the long-running project, as some of its storylines are reminiscent of its early years — compelling and creative. A big part of the change has involved leaning into nostalgia, with a couple of familiar faces coming back. None of them, however, is as big as Bishop.

Per a new interview with TVInsider, Emily Wickersham teases Bishop’s reunion with McGee on NCIS season 23, episode 10, “Her.” Having worked with the vereran MCRT agent the longest, since she was onboarded to be Ziva’s permanent replacement, seeing how the pair ended their time in Navy Yard back on NCIS season 18 was saddening. Per the actor, Bishop and McGee will address that incident, which will be tense but necessary. Read her full quote below:

Yeah, I think McGee, along with a lot of the rest of the team, kind of felt like Bishop left them high and dry and didn’t give concrete answers of why she was leaving, where she was going. So I would imagine that McGee has some feelings around that that he was maybe never able to express because in my mind, Bishop left and didn’t really communicate with people over the years.

Yeah. So I think McGee has a lot of unsaid things, feelings, frustrations around that. But again, they worked together for so long that they have this rapport and such a sweet friendship. I love their friendship together, but there is definitely something that needs to be addressed.

Much has been said about Ellie and Nick Torres’ NCIS season 23 reunion, primarily because their relationship was more complicated. Aside from being professional partners, the pair’s relationship also had romantic tones, reminiscent of Tony DiNozzo Jr. and Ziva’s will-they/won’t-they dynamic. The marketing for “Her” has largely been focused on them and understandably so. However, it’s also worth noting that Bishop’s relationship with McGee was also special.

When Bishop joined NCIS, she was wide-eyed and very green. At that point, McGee had already grown out of his probie phase and into a more veteran member of Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ team. Together with DiNozzo, he functioned as her mentor and even unofficial big brother, especially during her difficult split with her husband. So when Bishop decided to leave MCRT the way that they did, McGee felt betrayed.

In any case, previously-released promos for NCIS season 23, episode 10 promos hint that despite the animosity between the pair, they will eventually patch things up. The chances of Bishop coming back as a member of MCRT are very little to none, but at least, the show is able to rectify her divisive exit with her upcoming reunion with McGee and the rest.

NCIS season 23 will resume its broadcast on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, on CBS.

NCIS

6/10

Release Date

September 23, 2003

Showrunner

Donald P. Bellisario

Directors

Dennis Smith, Terrence O’Hara, Tony Wharmby, James Whitmore Jr., Thomas J. Wright, Michael Zinberg, Arvin Brown, Rocky Carroll, Diana Valentine, Leslie Libman, Tawnia McKiernan, Colin Bucksey, William Webb, Bethany Rooney, Alrick Riley, Jeff Woolnough, Alan J. Levi, Lionel Coleman, Martha Mitchell, Peter Ellis, Michael Weatherly, Edward Ornelas, Stephen Cragg, Tom Wright

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  Sean Murray

  Timothy McGee

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  David McCallum

  Dr. Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard