NCIS: Tony and Ziva starts filming in July, here's where!

We're a month out from NCIS: Tony and Ziva getting underway. Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo recently made the rounds at the Monte Carlo Television Festival promoting the upcoming Paramount+ original series which will be a departure from the franchise's procedural format.

Long time fans of the flagship, and new viewers, will be treated to a tense and thrilling trek across Europe with fan favorite characters Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David. Along for the ride is their daughter, Tali, who will be played by a yet to be announced European actress. The stars teased that the series is going to navigate the trust issues the family must contend with since Ziva faked her death and allowed her loved ones to believe she was gone only to return.

They'll be working through all of that in the midst of being on the run after their security company is attacked. Who gave the order and why will be a big part of the show as will its setting. The audience will be dropped into the trio's lives while they're in Paris, however, that's not where the show will be filming in July. Weatherly addressed why in an interview with Variety:

"Tony and Ziva live in Paris, and we will be shooting in Budapest, because the Olympics are in Paris right now and that would be complicated. But the show will have a lot of international locations that we will reveal later, and international casting that is going to be absolutely stellar. We’re a part of that as executive producers."

The international element to NCIS: Tony and Ziva is not only what will set it apart from its predecessors but it's also what Weatherly and de Pablo wanted for the series. Typically, with exception to NCIS: Sydney, the franchise's shows are based in the U.S. Of course, this makes sense since it follows the in and outs of different divisions of an American military branch's law enforcement agency.

Taking its set-up overseas requires a story point that makes sense for U.S. agents to be present. Tony and Ziva, however, can skirt that rule because they're retired but still a part of the franchise. The show is about them and that's how it fits into the universe. It's left of center but that works for them, and de Pablo wouldn't have done the spin-off if it didn't go international.

"At the beginning, I was very adamant about that, like, ‘No, I’m not interested if that’s where they want to go,' I really think the show should be taken out of the United States. It would separate us from the agency, and it would give us a chance to sort of reinvent it in a completely different way, from a different standpoint."

The reinvention will allow their characters to hop from country to country in Europe, and free them up from a case-of-the-week format. Instead, we'll have a serialized story to follow over the course of 10 episodes and hopefully a cameo or two from beloved characters in the franchise. Likely not Mark Harmon as Gibbs but perhaps other agents who have connections overseas or have worked missions in the parts of the world that Tony, Ziva, and Tali will be running around in.

We'll keep you posted as more location details come in. Stay tuned to Hidden Remote!