Two of the original five cast members of NCIS come together for a special project after both missed the franchise’s 1000th overall episode.
Two original NCIS cast members come together after missing the procedural’s 1000th overall episode. After more than two decades on the small screen, NCIS celebrated its 1000th episode, “A Thousand Yards,” which tackled a case that had ties to its pilot, “Yankee White.” Unfortunately, no one from NCIS‘ inaugural ensemble was involved in solving the new mystery, although the CBS show found a way to honor its overall legacy.
Just a week after the Easter egg-filled NCIS 1000th episode, Michael Weatherly and Sasha Alexander come together. Watch the clip below from Alexander’s official Instagram account below:
The conversation comes from the latest installment of Alexander’s Convos and Coffee on Instagram. Throughout their talk, the pair reminisced on their time on NCIS, as well as their reunion on Weatherly’s own show on CBS, Bull.
Why Kate Todd And Tony DiNozzo Jr. Weren’t In The NCIS’ 1000th Episode
NCIS’ 1000th Episode Paid Tribute To The Franchise’s Past
NCIS‘ 1000th episode looked back at its rich history by referencing the very first case that Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ team worked on in 2003. Both Weatherly’s DiNozzo and Pierce’s Todd were part of the investigation, although the latter wasn’t part of the agency yet. Instead, she was working with the Secret Service and was aboard Air Force One when sleeper agent Leonard Riche attempted to kill the president. Considering their involvement in “Yankee White,” seeing either Todd or DiNozzo would have been great, especially since Gibbs was already a no-show for NCIS‘ 1000th episode.
Unfortunately, there were reasons why CBS couldn’t bring either of them. For starters, Todd was murdered by Ari Haswari, Ziva’s half-brother, in the NCIS season 2 finale. Her death came as a massive shock to viewers, considering that she was one of its lead characters. Alexander returned to the show, and she was featured via archival footage subsequently. However, the writers needed to be very creative if they wanted to bring the actor back. Meanwhile, Weatherly just returned as DiNozzo for Ducky’s send-off episode, so the procedural opted not to bring him back as quickly.
Despite not appearing, the NCIS‘ 1000th episode didn’t forget to pay tribute to the pair’s contributions to the franchise. Both were featured in the special montage at the end of the outing, as Director Leon Vance explained the importance of the job that they do at the agency. In any case, Weatherly’s return to the franchise is already confirmed with his spinoff with Cote de Pablo’s Ziva. There is no word on Alexander’s possible comeback.