‘NCIS’: Will Michael Weatherly Return for a Guest Spot With ‘Bull’ Ending?

Michael Weatherly as Tony DiNozzo in NCIS
Jace Downs/CBS

It’s been six years since NCIS fans have seen Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) onscreen, but with Bull ending (the series finale will air May 26), is it possible he could return for a guest spot?

Executive producer Steven D. Binder is certainly up for it. “I absolutely would love to do something like that,” he told TV Insider while discussing the Season 19 finale. “That’s going to depend on Michael Weatherly. He and I have talked over the years about it and he was always on Bull and [since] he was on Bull, it just seemed weird and not right.”

He continued, “The last conversation I had with him was that he’s going to take some time off and rest because he went from a very difficult schedule on NCIS to headlining his own show for six years, through COVID, but I can say that I consider him a friend, so it’s not a difficult conversation to have with him. It’s just a question of whether or not it works out.”

Tony left the team at the end of Season 13, after finding out that he and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), supposedly dead at that point, had a daughter. But Ziva would then return in the Season 16 finale, shocking Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) by showing up in his basement. At the end of her four-episode return in Season 17, she left to reunite with Tony and their daughter in Paris off-screen. (They had been in contact since she faked her death.)

Then, later in Season 17, Tony’s father, DiNozzo Senior (Robert Wagner), told the team in a letter that he was in Paris with the family. “Apparently, by reuniting Ziva with Tony and Tali, NCIS has made him the ‘happiest pop-pop’ ever,” Dr. Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) said.

Now, we’ll just have to wait to see if Tony does return. After all, we’d love to see what he thinks of all the changes since his exit.

NCIS, Season 20, TBA, CBS




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  1. G

    GreenTurtle

    Tony was and always has been my favorite NCIS character. I miss his antics, his poignancy, his McNicknames and his dazzling smile.

    28 8

  2. C

    CyanRaindrop

    You must have missed a lot of the series - they did mature Tony through the years.

    18 7

  3. C

    CyanFish

    I would love to see it. I am going to miss him so much.

    13 5

  4. O

    OrangeMagnet

    Gibbs can ALWAYS come back. Was an asset to each and every storyline.

    In contrast, Weatherly was comic relief. Show has progressed just fine without him.

    Bishop? No loss - not missed - had no personality .

    ZIVA ? Always a great addition to each show. Had personality - talent - looks - a nice contrast week-to-week and to the other characters in the show.

    6

  5. G

    GoldBug

    I enjoyed watching Bull and felt that it ended on just the right note

    5

  6. P

    PurpleBlowdryer

    I would love to see it. Tony and Ziva helped make the show what it is. It would be all warm and fuzzy unless the writers do something way stupid

    11 7

  7. G

    GoldFlame

    They should write Parker out in the first part of next season, maybe even killing him off, Director Vance could reach out to Weatherly's character and ask him to come back with a sweetened offer of a training position for Ziva, after all their daughter is in school and they've got be itching for something to do. Why not bring them back? Weatherly as a full time cast member and de Pablo as a recurring character, maybe even Weatherly's character occupying Gibbs old house? It would be a smart move, Ziva and Tony occupying the home their de facto father figure occupied, maybe during the season the two get married and Mark Harmon make a cameo appearance to walk Ziva down the aisle surprising the team and Ziva at returning for the wedding? Heck, they could have Weatherly's character come in as Parker's temporary replacement at the beginning of the season while he's figuring things out, and his situation wraps up in time for Ziva and Tony to get hitched, but Parker while standing outside the church gets shot by that FBI boss of his that had it out for Gibbs, not realizing Gibbs was in attendance until Gibbs and NCIS work with Fornell and nail the FBI official for murder, and to ensure the FBI leaves Gibbs and NCIS alone, they capture him alive and hold him at a military base and leverage him with the FBI and DOJ, they leave NCIS and Gibbs alone permanently or they give the senior FBI agent a perp walk that makes even celebrities a headache. They could even disclose the FBI's issues

    4 1

  8. D

    David G

    This would only work a couple of ways,a reunion that included Gibbs or a Tony and Ziva story that brought in the group (which is complicated by the loss of Bishop).I wouldn't expect anything until near the series end which I'd bet isn't more than a year or two away.

    5 2

  9. G

    GreenCoffee

    I think Bull was a very good program. Ending it is a big mistake.

    4 2

  10. C

    CyanCoathanger

    Tony should come back, with Gibbs absence show is boring. Tony will bring some colors and fun to the show.

    17 15

  11. O

    OliveBox

    I didn’t know Bishop was gone.

    1

  12. R

    RedButton

    Bring back the best NCIS team, Tony ,Ziva, Tim and Gibbs. They always worked well together. I always enjoyed all there antics. Some of the best NCIS seasons with this team. Please bring them back! I did like the one person who said Tony and Ziva wedding???

  13. P

    PurpleLeaf

    HUGE Tiva fan here but Tony never really did grow up. Like you said, not enough.

    It's been like, what? 8 years now. I am sure he's grown up and Gibbs was just as bad, smacking Tony and berating his team.

  14. P

    PurpleLeaf

    Problem is the actress he had the issue with has issues with every show she has ever been on.

  15. P

    PurpleLeaf

    Stop teasing us. Sorry but I lost any and all hope with a Tiva reunion when they couldn't even be bothered to have Michael at the airport with his daughter when Ziva's season 16 storyline ended. #BoycottNCIS They only play games

  16. G

    GoldDucky

    I still enjoy watching the earlier seasons with Tony & Kate

    1 1

  17. A

    Allison Williams

    I liked the character of DiNozzo, but he needed to grow up which I guess he did off camera. What I didn’t like was Weatherly’s on-set behavior, reports of which which came out while he was doing Bull. I stopped watching him from that moment. I’m not sure he ever took ownership of his bullying behavior.

    7 7

    1. B

      BlueSailboat

      Unless you were there you really don't know anything

      2 1

  18. P

    PurpleWheel

    I just want Gibbs to come back the guy that has taken his place is crap at every thing he does in fact all the team should be back ,Don't think the writers know what they are doing they are killing the program for sure

    3 3

    1. J

      Jena

      Funny, I was thinking the exact opposite: this season has actually been a little interesting, with a team leader who has a little bit of actual personality.

      6 2

    2. P

      PurpleChilli

      NCIS is still the #1 highest viewership of all major U S scripted network shows.

      3

    3. P

      PurpleBlowdryer

      Mark Harmon is 71 years old… He played Gibbs for almost 20 years… Give him a break, he’s earned his right to retire!

      7

  19. G

    GreenPalmtree

    I would love for the series finale to be Tony and Ziva's wedding, no case, just the planning and the wedding. Of course Gibbs would return for it, and the final foof of the series would be the wedding photo - starting with the live people then as it develops we see behind them all of their fallen friends, family, and colleagues. Fade to black.

    2 4

  20. O

    OrangeBike

    That would be the only thing that saves this show as it’s absolute crap right now

    3 5

  21. P

    PurpleSubmarine

    NCIS, NEED TO MOVE FORWARD AND THE SHOW IS PERFECT A YOUNGER ACTOR OR ACTRESS NEEDS TO BE ADDED, NOT THE OLD... SORRY BULL!!!!!

    1 3

  22. J

    Jena

    The show has moved on. No need to "retread" where we've already been.

    8 10

  23. O

    OliveBeer

    Bring him back with ziva with Gibbs gone it would be the only thing that could keep the show alive.

    12 14

    1. G

      GreenCloud

      I agree. Please make it soon or the show will end.

      4 5

    2. G

      GreenSushi

      The show has gone on without either for years.

      7 2

  24. C

    CyanPumpkin

    What a wimp!

    1 4

  25. R

    RedTurtle

    I couldn’t stand Tony. Even at his best, he was a truly awful human being.

    4 7

  26. G

    GreenLobster

    How about they make a spin off With Tiva

    2 6

  27. P

    PurpleChilli

    It would not seem to be hard to arrange a guest appearance or 2 for MW as DiNozzo on NCIS.However, since it has now been in the official canon that not only did he resign from NCIS 6 years ago but has been in hiding away living an entirely different life with his daughter this whole time I would expect it would be as a civilian.

    5

  28. O

    OliveRadio

    The thing I don’t particularly like is that such a stunt usually takes the energy out of the episodes surrounding the event (return of Ziva in S. 17 did that to the first half of that season). The character of Tony and the actor who plays him was always my least favorite of the show, but if they did a one-off that didn’t take too much away from the current cast, I could live with it

    5 13