The thirteenth season of the Americanpolice procedural drama NCIS premiered on September 22, 2015, in the same time slot as in the previous seasons, Tuesdays at 8 pm.[1]
The series was renewed for a thirteenth season by CBS on Monday, May 11, 2015.[2][3] Production on this season started in late July.[4] On January 5, 2016, CBS announced Weatherly's departure from the series after thirteen seasons.[5]Scottie Thompson returned as Jeanne Benoit, Tony's ex-girlfriend, in episodes 8 and 16.[6][7][8][9]Scott Bakula, Lucas Black, Zoe McLellan, and Shalita Grant star in a crossover with NCIS: New Orleans, in the episode "Sister City (Part I)", as NCIS Special Agent Dwayne Pride, NCIS Special Agent Christopher LaSalle, NCIS Special Agent Meredith "Merri" Brody, and NCIS Special Agent Sonja Percy, respectively.[10]
In the aftermath of Gibbs being shot, he is brought to the U.S.S. Daniel Webster, where he is treated by Navy Doctor Cyril Taft (Jon Cryer). As the team waits for news on Gibbs' current condition, DiNozzo and CIA officer Joanna Teague travel to China to dismantle the Calling. Gibbs eventually survives his surgery and subsequently returns to active duty while forming a strong friendship with Dr. Taft while Tony personally tracks down and kills the leader of the Calling, Daniel Budd (Giles Matthey). During all this, the Calling dupes the United States into believing that North Korea intends to ignite World War III with launching a nuclear warhead from one of their Sinpo-class submarines.
Gibbs assigns the team to assist DEA agent Luis Mitchell tackle a cold case involving a drug dealer while DiNozzo discovers Mitchell and Gibbs share a tragic past.
When a Marine who had information concerning a case is found dead, the NCIS team investigates, prompting McGee and Bishop to go undercover as a military couple.
When a murder case is connected to a former NCIS agent who Director Vance locked up for stealing evidence years ago, he partners with Gibbs and returns to field duty only to realize why he decided to give it up.
Abby is trapped with little to no communication to the outside world while visiting a pharmaceutical lab during a murder investigation after armed men take over the building and hold everyone hostage.
The NCIS team must determine if a murder of a petty officer is the murderer's latest victim or the work of a copycat when the murder matches the M.O. of a local serial killer while McGee and Delilah must learn to compromise before moving in together.
The NCIS team investigates a murder case of a retired Navy Lieutenant Commander which opens up a convicted murderer's case. Ducky is forced to reveal his participation in a secret society that solves cold cases and related to the murder.
When insurgents in South Sudan attack a group of volunteer doctors, Special Agent Stan Burley asks the team for help, and things go very personal for DiNozzo as he is reunited with his ex-girlfriend Jeanne Benoit. DiNozzo and McGee travel to the crime scene for the joint murder and kidnapping case then join the search for the missing doctors. When Gibbs faints, Dr. Cyril Taft does tests on him to see what is wrong. Gibbs wonders if he should talk about what happened to him.
A petty officer volunteers to be court-martialed in order to clear his own name if the NCIS team agrees to conduct its own investigation after his murder case is dismissed due to a mishandled warrant. Bishop and Jake discuss their marital problems before she finds out he has been cheating on her.
When the two siblings of a leukemia-stricken sailor are killed in action, the NCIS team works with Fornell to find the sailor's only remaining sibling (who is currently undercover in a counterfeiting ring) and a potential donor. Meanwhile, Bishop goes back to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving after learning of Jake's infidelity.
When Ducky is attacked by a man who claims he has information on Ducky's half-brother (who allegedly died many years ago), the NCIS team jumps into action to find the man responsible. Bishop and Jake meet to discuss their future.
After five people are found dead on a civilian passenger jet in flight, the team investigates how they died. However, the case takes a spin when Dwayne Pride calls and reveals that one of the passengers was Luca Sciuto, Abby's brother, leaving the team trying to figure out not only where Luca is, but if he was involved in the attack. Meanwhile Tony confirms that he and Zoe have broken up.
After a female Navy seaman is found in a garbage truck, the team discovers a tracking device inside of her that leads to one of Bishop's old NSA cases involving a human trafficking ring. Meanwhile, as a snowstorm rages, McGee seeks a place to stay with heat.
After a Navy diver dies in a decompression tank, NCIS must wait four days for the tank to fully decompress, but without that time, are forced to rely on his three colleagues inside of the tank to get the information they need about the diver – and all three soon become suspects when the diver's death turns out to be a murder.
NCIS and the FBI search for SECNAV's daughter after she is kidnapped. NCIS Special Agent Valerie Page, McGee's childhood friend, comes to assist with advance tactics training.
After crates of assault rifles are stolen from a Navy base, the team's investigation soon brings in Dr. Taft and Jeanne Benoit-Woods. As Tony deals with Jeanne as the case brings up old wounds, Taft tries to get Gibbs to see a therapist.
The NCIS agents' personal plans are interrupted when each of them catches errors in a seemingly open-and-shut case. Also, McGee and Delilah argue over the importance of not discussing work during dinner, while DiNozzo bores his date with shop talk.
After an American couple is killed in Iraq, the team discovers that the weapon used was taken from a Marine ambush, and Gibbs goes to reconnect with the lone survivor of the attack, a fellow Marine sniper.
When a Navy journalist is found dead, the team attempts to figure out who is telling the truth with their stories – his wife and his mistress. Meanwhile, a homeless woman claims that DiNozzo Senior is her father.
When a British prison guard is found dead in a shipping container, the team works with Fornell to track down the two prisoners who used the container to escape, one of whom was a former MI6 spy put away by Tom Morrow. Meanwhile, McGee and Bishop try to figure out how Tony affords his lavish apartment. Gibbs and Fornell later arrive at Morrow's home and find Morrow dead in his study from a gunshot to the head, ending the episode in a cliffhanger.
Following Tom Morrow's death, Director Vance follows a lead left by DiNozzo, who is currently in Russia with his own lead on Jacob Scott. Vance and Agent Fornell travel to London to find Jessica Terdei, a retired MI6 agent involved in Operation Juniper Strike. Meanwhile, Gibbs and the rest of his team investigate a home invasion of a Marine which was stopped by his teenage son, but later suspects that the son is hiding something else. First LadyMichelle Obama makes an appearance in support of "Joining Forces". The episode ends with Fornell being badly wounded after an ambush at Gibbs' house.
Fornell is in critical condition after being ambushed in Gibbs' house. NCIS places all people on Jacob Scott's hit list into protective custody except for two missing people, both of them former NCIS agents. Gibbs and his team manage to find them with help from FBI agent Tess Monroe, MI6 agent Clayton Reeves and a returning Trent Kort. Scott later turns himself in, claiming he is being framed for everything, and that the only person that can clear his name is another former NCIS agent, Ziva David. It turns out that Scott was telling the truth and Kort is the true culprit. The episode ends in a cliffhanger, revealing that the farmhouse belonging to the late former Mossad director, Eli David, was bombed; this was the supposed location of Ziva.
Tony rushes to Israel after learning of a possible survivor at Eli David's farmhouse which was attacked while the rest of the team continues to hunt the fugitive Trent Kort. Tony's father tries to reassure him, but Abby and McGee solemnly visit Tony at his apartment. As he is ready to leave, he realizes that Ziva has apparently died in the attack. A devastated Tony is left to pick up the pieces of his life, and Mossad director Orli Elbaz visits NCIS to inform Tony of his and Ziva's daughter, whom he never knew existed and was named Tali in honor of Ziva's late sister. At first, Tony is offended that Ziva never told him about Tali and struggles to find his footing as a father, but he is helped by the rest of the team and his own father along the way. After the team locates Kort and finally kills him, Tony visits Gibbs and announces he will resign so he can take care of Tali as a single dad, intending on taking her to Israel to "look for some answers" and then to Paris, as "Ziva loves Paris," showing his belief that Ziva may still be alive as her body had never been found. He then says farewell to the rest of the team.
Ratings
Viewership and ratings per episode of NCIS season 13
