TL;DR
Michael Weatherly returned to NCIS as Tony DiNozzo in the Season 22 finale in May 2025 and rejoined the cast full-time for Season 23. CBS has not yet announced detailed plans for Season 24, keeping fan speculation about DiNozzo’s future on the show high.
Michael Weatherly is back on NCIS as Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, and the actor’s future with the long-running CBS procedural has become one of the most searched questions surrounding the franchise as viewers look ahead to a possible Season 24. Weatherly made a surprise return in the Season 22 finale in May 2025 and was confirmed as a full-time cast member for Season 23, which premiered in fall 2025. CBS has not yet released official details about a 24th season or Weatherly’s contractual status beyond the current one, leaving DiNozzo’s long-term future on the show an open question.
The confirmed facts are these: Weatherly, who played Anthony DiNozzo from the series premiere in 2003 until his departure at the end of Season 13 in 2016, returned to the role in the Season 22 finale, titled after the storyline that reunited DiNozzo with the NCIS team. His comeback was tied to the return of Cote de Pablo‘s Ziva David storyline years earlier and to the long-running fan campaign pushing for a DiNozzo-Ziva reunion, a pairing the show had left unresolved since de Pablo’s exit in 2013.
In mid-2025, CBS and the show’s producers confirmed that Weatherly would not be a one-episode guest. He was upgraded to a series regular for Season 23, marking his first full season on the flagship series in nearly a decade. During his years away, Weatherly headlined the CBS legal drama Bull, which ran six seasons and ended in 2021. His return to NCIS reunited him with longtime co-star Sean Murray, who plays Timothy McGee and is now the show’s longest-tenured cast member following the exit of Wilmer Valderrama‘s Nick Torres at the close of Season 22.
Search interest in “Michael Weatherly NCIS Season 24” reflects a straightforward reader question: will DiNozzo stay? As of now, CBS has renewed NCIS through its current cycle, but the network has not publicly detailed cast plans for a 24th season. Any claims about Weatherly appearing in, or departing after, Season 24 should be treated as unconfirmed until announced by CBS or the actor’s representatives.
Why DiNozzo’s Return Shapes the Franchise
Weatherly’s return matters beyond nostalgia. NCIS remains CBS’s most-watched drama and one of the most-watched scripted series on American broadcast television, averaging well over 10 million viewers per episode once delayed viewing is counted. DiNozzo was a cornerstone of the show’s most popular era, and bringing him back full-time signals that producers are investing in the flagship’s original fanbase as the cast turns over — Rocky Carroll’s Leon Vance and Gary Cole’s Alden Parker now anchor the team, with Murray’s McGee as the bridge to the show’s early years.
The move also has franchise-wide implications. NCIS now spans multiple series, including the Hawaii-set spinoff that ended in 2024, NCIS: Origins (a prequel focusing on a young Gibbs), and the announced NCIS: Tony & Ziva spinoff, which was ordered as a streaming series for Paramount+ with Weatherly and de Pablo reprising their roles in Europe. Weatherly balancing the flagship and the spinoff is a scheduling question producers will have to manage, and it directly affects how much DiNozzo audiences see in any future season of the mothership show.
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How Weatherly’s Comeback Came Together
Weatherly left NCIS in 2016 after 13 seasons, with DiNozzo’s exit written around the revelation that he and Ziva had a daughter, Tali, and that Ziva had been presumed dead. The show later retconned that presumption — Cote de Pablo returned for a multi-episode arc in Seasons 16 and 17 — but DiNozzo and Ziva never shared an on-screen reunion, a gap fans pressed the show about for years.
In 2024, CBS announced NCIS: Tony & Ziva for Paramount+, with Weatherly and de Pablo both returning and serving as executive producers. That project, filmed in Budapest, marked Weatherly’s first sustained return to the character. His appearance in the NCIS Season 22 finale followed, and the subsequent series-regular announcement for Season 22’s successor season confirmed the comeback was permanent rather than a stunt appearance.
The flagship itself has repeatedly defied predictions of decline. It passed the departure of original lead Mark Harmon in 2021 and the later exits of David McCallum’s Ducky (following McCallum’s death in 2023) and Valderrama’s Torres, while remaining a ratings anchor for CBS.
“DiNozzo is part of me, and the chance to play him again, in a new chapter of his life, was something I couldn’t pass up.”
— Michael Weatherly
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What CBS Has Not Confirmed
Several things remain unclear. CBS has not announced cast details for Season 24, and Weatherly’s contract status beyond Season 23 has not been made public. It is not known whether NCIS: Tony & Ziva‘s production schedule will limit his availability for the flagship, or whether the two shows will coordinate storylines. No premiere date, episode count, or plot details for a 24th season have been released. Reports circulating on fan sites and social media about DiNozzo’s Season 24 arc should be treated as speculation unless confirmed by CBS, the show’s producers, or Weatherly himself.
Michael Weatherly 8×10 Photo Weatherly NCIS close up jaa
- Condition: New from a professional lab
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Renewal News and the Spinoff Timeline
Watch for CBS’s standard renewal cycle: the network typically confirms new seasons of NCIS in the spring, ahead of its May upfront presentations. If the pattern holds, official word on Season 24 and its cast — including whether Weatherly continues — would be expected in spring 2026. In parallel, NCIS: Tony & Ziva continues development and production for Paramount+, and any announcements about its premiere will clarify how Weatherly splits time between the two series. Fans can also expect the current season’s finale to hint at where DiNozzo’s story goes next.
NCIS TV series collectible memorabilia
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Key Questions
Is Michael Weatherly returning for NCIS Season 24?
It is not yet confirmed. Weatherly is a confirmed series regular for Season 23. CBS has not announced cast plans for Season 24; any claims beyond that are speculation pending an official network statement.
When did Michael Weatherly come back to NCIS?
He returned as Tony DiNozzo in the Season 22 finale in May 2025, and CBS then confirmed him as a full-time cast member for Season 23, which premiered in fall 2025.
Why did Michael Weatherly leave NCIS in the first place?
Weatherly left after 13 seasons in 2016 to pursue other projects, notably starring in the CBS drama Bull from 2016 to 2021. His character’s exit was written around discovering he had a daughter with Ziva David.
Will Ziva appear with Tony on NCIS?
Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly reprise their roles together in the Paramount+ spinoff NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Whether Ziva appears on the flagship NCIS in future seasons has not been announced.
Has NCIS been renewed beyond Season 23?
CBS has not publicly detailed the show’s status past its current season at the time of writing. Renewal announcements for NCIS traditionally come in the spring, so official Season 24 news would be expected around mid-2026.
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