NCIS stars Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David opened up about exactly when their next spinoff was set and the reason behind the unexpected choice.

NCIS Season 22 began on CBS with its first-ever prequel NCIS Origins also in full swing, telling the story of Leroy Gibbs (played by Austin Stowell) when he first became an agent.

There’s more to come with another prequel on the way in the form of NCIS: Tony & Ziva, delving into the lives of fan favorites Tony DiNozzo (played by Michael Weatherly) and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) .

The series will see the star-crossed lovers finally reunited on Paramount+ with their lives in danger as Tony’s security company in Paris is targeted.

However, it has since been revealed that although the main events of the spin-off were to take place in modern times, the series would not begin at that point.

Instead, NCIS: Tony and Ziva will recover from Ziva’s fake death and Tony’s exit from the team as he leaves for Paris with their daughter Tali.

This detail was shared during the series’ MIPCOM panel with the Pablo actress stating: “We haven’t seen these characters since 2013 and I think fans have always wanted to see what happened between them. In our first season, they will understand what happened.

The spin-off that debuted more than 10 years earlier will clear up the mystery of what happened after Tony and Ziva’s lives changed, as little is known after their exit from NCIS.

Ziva then returned years later to help Gibbs with a case before leaving Washington DC to reunite with Tony and Tali in Paris.

Further explaining the reason for the time jump, de Pablo added: “It takes away the pressure of watching the main series to fully understand what’s happening and how Tony and Ziva’s new dilemma relates to their past.”

After delving deeper into what happened back then, the series will move to the present day where the former agents find themselves in trouble again, but who is to blame?

Although no official release date is known yet, the spinoff will air on Paramount+ rather than CBS and will consist of 10 episodes in total.

NCIS: Tony & Ziva is expected to premiere on Paramount+ sometime in 2025.