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NCIS Bosses Say There's 'Still Room' For a Tony and Ziva Reunion

"We think the audience wants to see a reunion"

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Lindsay MacDonald

Though the midseason finale of NCIS told us about a reunion between Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo), needless to say, fans were a little disappointed we didn't actually get to see the couple back together again. Hope isn't lost that we may still get that scene though!

Executive producers Frank Cardea and Steven D. Binder spoke to TV Insider about crafting that non-reunion, saying, "We were playing a game of Operation with this. On the one hand, we wanted to see a reunion and we think the audience wants to see a reunion and if there has been a full-throated reunion in the past, that's a disservice to the storytelling on some level. On the other hand, when you're a co-parent, letting your co-parent believe you're dead is a pretty rough pill to swallow," Binder said.

NCIS Reveals How Ziva Survived the Farmhouse Bombing

"We had split the difference and thought, 'What would really happen?' She really believes her life is in jeopardy, she really believes she needs to stay undercover, so she doesn't tell anybody. But if Adam Eshel's going to know, Tony's going to know. Just because he knows doesn't mean they've been vacationing in the Caymans and hanging out and having a good ol' time," he continued. "Just because he knows she's alive doesn't mean there's been a relationship there, which still gives us space to do a reunion."

We're going to use a bit of tunnel vision and focus on the fact that there's still space to see a reunion, especially considering Cote de Pablo will also appear in the midseason premiere on Jan. 7. Cardea even teased that they'd get into some of the ramifications this separation could have on Tony and Ziva's relationship in that episode!

Now, if only we could get through the holiday break without thinking only about this for the next three weeks...

NCIS returns Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 8/7c on CBS.

(Disclosure: TV Guide is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.)

Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo, NCIS

Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo, NCIS

Sonja Flemming, CBS