The final episode of NCIS Season 16 was a hell of a surprise. The audience was in immense shock with the re-entry of Cota De Pablo as Ziva David. With the surprising ending, the audience is in utter confusion about the fate of NCIS Season 17.

NCIS is an action police procedural series of CBS. The series focuses on a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and their course of actions with the criminals. The show began as a spin-off series from JAG. Those two episodes of JAG were added in Season eight of NCIS.

The show debuted on September 23, 2003, on CBS. As of 2019, NCIS is the second longest-running scripted, non-animated U.S. primetime TV series and is the 7th longest-running scripted U.S. primetime TV series overall. The renewal of the show for the seventeenth season took place in the middle of the sixteenth season, on April 11, 2019.

NCIS Season 17: Return of Ziva David

Despite being declared dead years ago, the sixteenth season revived NCIS agent Ziva David. The final episode of the sixteenth season showed her arriving in the basement of Special Agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon). There, she warning him that his life is in danger.



This means that NCIS season 17 will also feature Ziva as an important bead of the chain. Frank Cardea and Steven Binder, the showrunners of the show also released a statement just after the episode aired. They stated as: “this surprise moment is just the beginning. We are thrilled to share that Cote de Pablo will guest star in the NCIS season 17 premiere this fall, as Ziva’s warning to Gibbs unfolds.

Is Ziva Dead or Alive?

There is a huge question mark over the reality or otherwise of Ziva, who, as far as we knew, was killed in a fire. Though the producers have set it up that this could be the real Ziva. Earlier this season, the NCIS team found out that Ziva maintained a secret hideaway during her time as an agent. This let Agent Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham) believe that Ziva would not be dead after all. This was after a note left asking her to keep Ziva’s continued existence secret.



However, there’s nothing in the showrunners’ statement that categorically says Ziva is alive. Maybe her arrival at the end of the season established that Gibbs can see and hear dead people. This could be the same as that Amy Rutberg played the Angel of Death on NCIS: NOLA, haunting Scott Bakula’s Dwayne Pride.

Meanwhile, there has not been any update on the plot details for NCIS season 17. However, this is absolutely sure that this season will witness the paramount of thrill and suspense with the entry of Ziva David.

NCIS Season 17 Release Date

Every season of the series released in the later September of their respective years of release and runs till May. This means that this season will also premiere in September 2019. Moreover, if the show stays on Tuesday for season 17, then the release date will be either September 20 or September 27, 2019.