Why NCIS: Tony & Ziva Was Canceled At Paramount Plus

An "NCIS" series being canceled after one season feels like a violation of some kind of law of nature. Yet, that's what happened in 2025 when Paramount axed the spin-off "NCIS: Tony & Ziva," which had only been going for 10 episodes by that point. The Paramount+ show follows the new lives of Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), two former Naval Criminal Investigative Service (or NCIS) agents who had previously appeared in hundreds of episodes of its parent TV series. Wilder still, the original "NCIS" is still going to this day and is itself a spin-off of the legal drama show "JAG" (which debuted all the way back in 1997 and ran for 10 crackerjack seasons). 

Since its launch in 2003, "NCIS" has become a reliable comfort-watch, drawing in millions of viewers during its prolonged tenure and spawning several spin-off series that transpose its action to different places (among them New York, Hawai'i, and Sydney). It's also given rise to "NCIS: Origins," a prequel show that follows the adventures of Austin Stowell's Leroy Jethro Gibbs (whom Mark Harmon played as an older man on "NCIS" prior to his departure).

Why, then, did "Tony & Ziva" fail to become yet another success story for this small screen juggernaut? According to Variety, it saw a swift drop-off in its viewership after its opening frame. In addition, a Paramount+ executive told Deadline that the series cost too much relative to its lower-than-expected ratings.

For those not aware, the characters Tony and Ziva didn't date for most of their time together on "NCIS." Fans, however, long appreciated their chemistry and shipped the couple, calling them "Tiva" and devoting entire websites to their relationship. By the time "NCIS: Tony & Ziva" begins, though, they've already gotten together romantically and broken up, yet they still see each other regularly for the sake of their daughter. The characters have moved into the private sector as well, with Tony now serving as the head of a European private security firm and Ziva overseeing a language school.

Perhaps most notably, "Tony & Ziva" tells a larger story and isn't a week-by-week procedural like other "NCIS" shows. Jane Wiseman, the executive vice president and Head of Originals for Paramount+ who spoke to Deadline, explained that "Tony & Ziva" was, very basically, too expensive to keep making. As she put it:

"'Tony & Ziva,' unfortunately, for the cost, it did not make sense with the viewing, although we were all fans of it."

Why did it cost so much? Perhaps it's because the show was filmed on location in Europe. Not to mention, its stars likely (and rightly) demanded larger salaries. Whatever the reason, the viewership apparently wasn't there to justify its expenditures.

In an official statement, Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly said they were happy to have been able to play their long-running "NCIS" characters again, and they expressed gratitude to all the fans and creatives who made "Tony & Ziva" possible. They also felt that Tony and Ziva got their "happily ever after."

As Variety noted, the series did indeed open strongly before immediately dropping off, losing 51% of its viewership across its first three episodes. Yeah, that's pretty bad. This was not for a lack of quality, either, as Variety critic Chris Willman was very positive on "NCIS: Tony & Ziva," calling it the best of the many, many "NCIS" spin-offs. And that's no small praise, given just how many there have been.

Its cancellation means that "Tony & Ziva" may well go down as the shortest-lived "NCIS" series ever. As mentioned, the original show is still going, and its spin-offs tend to do very well, but that's it for Tiva. Of course, fans have hundreds and hundreds of extant hours of "NCIS" to comfort themselves. As long as the Navy has malfeasance to investigate, this fictional universe will carry on. It's the "Gunsmoke" of our time.