“Truth is, this job isn’t for everybody. It requires you to trust the people in this building with your life. But the only way we do this is together,” Special Agent Alden Parker (Gary Cole) says in the new NCIS Season 21 trailer (introduced by the actor who has been on the show the longest, Sean Murray, who recurred in Season 1 before being upped to series regular).
We’ve already seen Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) arrested by the FBI (charged with murder!) in the NCIS bullpen in a sneak peek from the February 12 premiere, and now, there’s a glimpse at a video message he’s left for the team. “If you’re watching this. I’ve been arrested,” he says. “I know you’ll want to help me, but don’t.” Season 20 ended with Torres confronting a man from his past (Al Sapienza‘s Maurice Riva) and telling him he wants to watch him die; we’ve since learned that man made Torres’ family’s life hell. But exactly how far did Torres go? And will the team be able to help him? And given that message, will he let them?
The trailer (above) also features Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard’s (the late David McCallum) voiceover – “Yesterday is over. Change is the essence of life.” — prior to what looks like a glimpse at his tribute episode and Dr. Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen, who co-wrote the installment) finding him dead. (McCallum died in September 2023.) Airing second in the season (on February 19), the episode will find the team learning Ducky was trying to clear someone’s name when he died, and “in [investigating it], they’re going to relive their memories of a coworker and a man who meant so very much to them,” as co-showrunner David J. North previewed. They’ll be asking, “What would Ducky do?” (That’s a smart choice, if you ask us.)
Watch the video for more of what’s to come.
Also this season will be the NCIS franchise’s 1,000th(!) episode, on April 15. “It’s going to be huge to try and embrace the entire NCIS universe,” according to North. “One of our most beloved characters will be in grave danger.”
This also comes as the NCIS franchise continues to expand. While New Orleans and Los Angeles have both ended after long runs, Hawai’i is going into its third season, the first international version Sydney just wrapped its first, and a prequel about Mark Harmon‘s Leroy Jethro Gibbs (this younger version has yet to be cast) has been ordered to series.
NCIS, Season 21 Premiere, Monday, February 12, 9/8c, CBS
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
