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NCIS fans have been binge-watching the hit crime procedural now that season 17 got cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. One of the characters getting extra attention is Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), who returned to action after leaving the series in season 11. While viewers cannot wait to see what’s in store for Ziva next season, some fans noticed some embarrassing mistakes in her original storyline.

NCIS Cote de Pablo
‘NCIS’ star Cote De Pablo | Jacopo Raule/Getty Images

‘NCIS’ fans cannot get enough of Ziva

Fans were shocked when NCIS brought Ziva back in the final scene of season 16. Knowing that she would play a much larger role in season 17, fans could not wait to learn what Ziva had been doing all those years she was away.

As part of her big return, many fans thought that NCIS would reunite Ziva with his daughter, Tali, and her former lover, Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly). The highly anticipated reunion, however, never happened — at least on screen.

At the end of season 17, Tali sent Ziva a text message asking her to come home. We do not know if Ziva returned to her family or not, but fans are hopeful that we’ll see the trio together again next season.

That said, if producers cannot pull Weatherly away from his busy schedule then there is a chance the reunion will take place off-screen. The actor is currently starring in his own series, Bull, and the current crisis has only complicated schedules even further.

If Weatherly does appear in season 18 of NCIS, his cameo will likely be brief, though there is no doubt fans would still love it.

Inside some of the embarrassing mistakes in Ziva’s storyline

While viewers wait to see what unfolds for Ziva, some fans have noticed some embarrassing mistakes in her earlier storyline. Most of these errors were the result of some sloppy editing on behalf of NCIS producers and had nothing to do with Ziva’s actual story.

Back in season 4, for instance, there was a scene with Ziva and Gibbs (Mark Harmon) inside a safe house she put in place for Ari. While the two discovered a hidden camera in the room, one of the members of the crew can be seen in the far left of the screen.

Later, Ziva and Gibbs are arguing about Namir Eschel’s (Eyal Podell) involvement in their case when they find a dead body. But the entire setup is ruined for fans who noticed a crew member wandering into the frame.

Given how it takes several millions of dollars to produce a single episode of NCIS, fans were understandably upset by the embarrassing mistakes. But to be fair, the show has been around for 17 seasons and some mistakes are to be expected.

The good thing is that NCIS has cut down on those mistakes over the years and runs a pretty tight ship now.

When will ‘NCIS’ return to CBS?

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, CBS was forced to cut short season 17 at 20 episodes. A normal season of the hit crime drama runs around 24 installments.

Instead of producing the last 4 episodes of season 17, CBS recently announced that those episodes will become part of season 18. Showrunners also assured fans that they did not plan on ending season 17 on a major cliffhanger, so they aren’t missing out on too much.

According to Express, executive producer Frank Cardea revealed that they were only two days away from filming episode 21 when the pandemic shut everything down. Given how the set is still up and ready to go, they will likely pick up right where they left off.

“Episode 21 was two days away from production,” Cardea shared. “The sets are built and now locked up in our stages, the locations were pulled, the actors had been cast. That’s probably what we will shoot first [whenever production resumes].”

At this point, there is no telling when production will ramp back up. If filming starts within the next few months, then fans can expect season 18 of NCIS to return sometime in the fall.

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