9 Biggest Questions for ‘NCIS,’ One Chicago & More Returning Dramas
It’s been quite some months since our favorite network dramas last aired new episodes, but premieres are about to get started in earnest, so when better to remind you of where some of the biggest shows left off?
As tends to be the case, several finales ended with characters’ lives hanging in the balance (Chicago Fire, P.D.), plus at least one premiere is set up to put a couple major characters in danger (9-1-1). At least two law enforcement officials weren’t exactly thinking with their badges last May when confronting men in storylines related to their families (Wilmer Valderrama‘s Torre on NCIS, Matt Lauria‘s Josh on CSI: Vegas). A couple of shows had entire teams in explosive and fiery situations (The Equalizer, FBI: International). And for one-long running drama, we can’t help but wonder if it will be its last.
Scroll down as we take a look at the biggest burning questions heading into our favorite dramas’ returns. We’ve only chosen one per show, so head to the comments if you have a different one for any of these.
9-1-1: Will Athena and Bobby need to be saved when their ship sinks?
Season 6 ended with Captain Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) and Sergeant Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) finally setting out on a cruise they’d been trying to take for some time … without telling anyone where they were going. Now, the first promos for Season 7 (on ABC, after moving from Fox) show an explosion on a cruise ship, which begins sinking. Most worrisome? The video featuring an LAPD badge! Let’s hope Bobby and Athena are among those searching for victims and not those being rescued in the premiere.
Season 7 premiere: March 14
Chicago Fire: Will Mouch live or die?
There were quite a few cliffhangers at the end of Season 11, but we’re most eager to find out if Mouch (Christian Stolte), bleeding significantly in the hospital after a shrapnel injury on the job, lives or dies. The show and Firehouse 51 wouldn’t be the same without him! (Plus, photos from the premiere seem to reveal the answer to a certain proposal, though executive producer Andrea Newman cautioned TV Insider about any plans that might be in place.)
Season 12 premiere: January 17
Chicago P.D.: Will Ruzek live or die?
Med was the place to be for One Chicago characters at the end of the 2022-2023 season. Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) was shot in the course of his undercover op and left there bleeding for, quite frankly, much longer than we were comfortable with in the Season 10 finale. Last we heard, he was rushed to surgery. Is Intelligence about to say goodbye to more than one of its members this season?
Season 11 premiere: January 17
CSI: Vegas: Is Josh a murderer?
Season 2 ended with Josh finding out his mother was murdered and tracking down the person he thought could lead him to the killer. However, then, it turned out that person was the killer — and the body the rest of the team found soon after. But did Josh do it? He’s behind bars when the new season begins, and we can’t wait to find out what really happened that night.
Season 3 premiere: February 18
The Equalizer: How will Robyn save her team?
Robyn’s (Queen Latifah) CIA past came back to haunt her in the Season 3 finale. Because of someone she thought had died, she was left to watch as the room where Mel (Liza Lapira), Harry (Adam Goldberg), and Dante (Tory Kittles) were being held began to burn. But Robyn will find a way to help them or they’ll find a way to save themselves, right?
Season 4 premiere: February 18
FBI: International: Did everyone survive the explosion?
The entire Fly Team was caught up in an explosion from the first floor of their headquarters — Scott (Luke Kleintank), Jamie (Heida Reed), Vo (Vinessa Vidotto), Smitty (Eva-Jane Willis), and Powell (Greg Hovanessian) inside, and Raines (Carter Redwood) just outside — at the end of Season 2. Now, the Season 3 premiere photos show everyone except for Raines and Smitty, but could they simply be elsewhere during the moments pictured?
Season 3 premiere: February 13
Fire Country: How will Bode — and his loved ones — handle him being back in prison?
Bode (Max Thieriot) was so close to being free at the end of the first season finale, only to take the blame for drugs at Three Rock in order to ensure his friend Freddy’s (W. Tre Davis) release (the investigation was holding that up). His loved ones were shocked at his parole hearing, and now he’s back behind bars. Something tells us he’s going to have a lot of work to do to repair the relationships he’d already spend a season rebuilding. And Bode saying “I’m where I belong now” probably isn’t going to help.
Season 2 premiere: February 16
Grey's Anatomy: Will Season 20 be its last?
It’s a valid question, especially with series star Ellen Pompeo taking a step back and appearing in fewer episodes and simply because the show is going into its 20th season. Considering ABC announced that Station 19 is ending with its upcoming seventh season, we do think that Grey’s will go at least one more after this; it’s hard to imagine the network saying goodbye to both the spinoff and the original at the same time.
Season 20 premiere: March 14
NCIS: What will Torres do to the man from his past?
Torres was shocked when he saw a man (Al Sapienza) from his past in the Season 20 finale. “The bastard’s still alive,” he said on a call to his sister. Then, in the last scene, he was waiting in that man’s home, with his gun, and he wanted what he always had: “to watch [him] die.” And we now know, thanks to teases from executive producer David J. North that “Torres is out for revenge, even if it costs him his career — or worse, his life,” because that man took in his family as immigrants in a situation that became “a violent nightmare.” Season 21 premiere photos do show Torres back at work, but we can’t help but be worried about what he might do before he gets there.
Season 21 premiere: February 12
