NCIS Star Responds To 1000th Episode Ending

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for NCIS season 21, episode 7, the 1000th episode of the franchise!

NCIS star Brian Dietzen has opened up about the ending of the franchise’s 1000th episode, describing how it honors the whole series since the very beginning. The episode featured many Easter eggs to the whole series, alongside a case that had ties to the start of the flagship series. At the end of the episode, a short series of clips play out from all the spinoffs the series has ever had, honoring all the time and effort it took for it to reach 1000 episodes.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Dietzen, who has portrayed Jimmy Palmer from season 1, explained how NCIS‘ 1000th episode honored the legacy of the franchise. The actor revealed what it was like to know the series has been going on for so long, while also reflecting on how the ending honored everything that had come before. Check out what Dietzen had to say below:

Well, I think you’ve got to honor everything. There are a lot of people. Those 1,000 episodes don’t happen without over 1,000 people working behind the scenes over the course of these 21 years, not just on our show, but on our sister shows as well. So I was really, really happy when I was reading this script to see some shout-outs to past characters that are no longer on the show and also past storylines that meant a lot to the fans and meant a lot to us as NCIS family members.

The ending, it just got me. It’s one thing to read it in script form, but then when you get to see it, and see how visually it all comes together with the music swelling and you’re showing some of these seminal moments from the history of NCIS and also simple moments like Gibbs helping a kid build a tree house. You know, the stuff that made NCIS what it is for two decades. And you’re reminded that this is how we got here. Yeah, it definitely got me.

Could NCIS’ Legacy Last Another 1000 Episodes?

The 1000th episode of the series honored the legacy of the show from the very first episode, focusing on a case that had its roots in the very first episode of the entire franchise. This made the case even more important, as its ties to the very beginning of the show via Leonard Rush’s daughter made it resonate more with the franchise’s history. Because of how interconnected this case was to the start of the show while also referencing other series, the episode made for a good look back at what helped NCIS get to where it is today.

It’s possible the legacy the series has achieved so far will continue, as the franchise is currently in the middle of a massive expansion. While NCIS season 22 has been confirmed, so too has NCIS: Sydney season 2, with Hawai’i‘s future the only one that’s unclear as of writing. However, in addition to these shows will be the upcoming NCIS: Origins about a young Gibbs and an untitled Tony and Ziva spinoff that will debut on Paramount+. The franchise’s milestone appears to be just the beginning for its ongoing growth.

Given that new shows in the franchise are still being produced, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for NCIS to have another 1000 episodes in the far future. Since the main series continues to be renewed as the franchise expands, it could act as a launchpad for a variety of new content on either CBS or Paramount+ moving forward. With the past of the franchise honored in its 1000th episode, it seems the rest of the year will involve looking forward to the procedural series’ growing future.

Source: EW