For 17 seasons, NCIS has intrigued and delighted fans. The series, initially a spinoff of JAG, follows a team of special agents as they investigate military-related crimes. It’s set in Washington, DC, and produced two spinoff series of its own set in Los Angeles and New Orleans, giving fans a look at different facets of the organization.
NCIS might follow the procedural case of the week format, but at its heart are the people solving the cases. The relationships amongst the main cast of characters have kept the series from becoming stale. Some of those relationships have the full support of fans who want to see the characters outside of crime-solving, while others fell a little short.
Fans Rejected: Gibbs & Shepard
NCIS Director Jenny Shepard was an accomplished agent who was incredibly focused on her work – and a side mission to avenge her father. In the past, she and Agent Gibbs were an item, but when she became his boss, fans weren’t interested in seeing them dredge up the past.
The issue here wasn’t that fans weren’t interested in Shepard, but they weren’t yet ready for Gibbs to have a steady love interest. Early seasons of the show slowly revealed his past and the details behind the deaths of his first wife and daughter. All of his relationships after Shannon’s death ended in heartbreak – usually for the woman – and it was clear that Jenny Shepard wasn’t interested in popping up on that list twice.
Fans Supported: Tony & Ziva
The relationship between Anthony DiNozzo and Ziva David might be one of the slowest burns in television history. When they met, Ziva was added to Gibbs’ team because Jenny Shepard recommended her for the spot. She was good at her job, but it took some time for the team to get used to the Israeli transplant.
There was always chemistry between Ziva and Tony, though both pursued other relationships instead of acting on it the entire time they were on the same team. Instead, fans watched them banter, enjoy movie nights together, and save each other’s lives without getting romantic; at least, until Ziva left the team behind.
In season 17, their love story still has an effect on the series, as Tony left to raise their daughter and Ziva has been pretending to be dead to tie up loose ends in her past.
Fans Rejected: Ziva & Ray
Not so affectionately called CI-Ray by Tony, Ray was an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency that Ziva briefly dated while the team was tracking the Port-A-Port killer. Ray was nice enough, but fans were already so invested in the potential of a relationship with Tony that seeing Ziva with someone else didn’t sit well.
It didn’t help that Ray repeatedly lied to Ziva (mostly about work, as was the nature of both of their jobs), and she had some serious trust issues.
Fans Supported: Tony & Kate
Before there was Ziva, there was Kate. She was the lone woman on Team Gibbs, and one of Abby Sciouto’s best friends. Her favorite pastime was antagonizing Tony. In between bouts of annoying one another, however, they showed they truly cared for one another.
This relationship never got off the ground because, despite repeated hints from the writers that there were feelings, Kate was killed right in front of Tony on a case. The experience messed with his head and he hallucinated her presence after the fact. Tony even named his fish after her. She was definitely the one that got away for him, and fans were disappointed to see her go.
Fans Rejected: Ellie & Jake
Jake was mentioned a lot in the show when Ellie Bishop first joined the team. The two met and married while working for the same organization. Her move into NCIS changed their relationship a bit. Fans weren’t particularly interested in him at first, primarily because he wasn’t a member of the team or someone they got to know. Everything learned about jake was from Ellie’s perspective.
When he finally did appear in the flesh, Jake didn’t become a fan favorite, though Agent Bishop did. Jake cheating on his wife meant that no fan wanted to see Ellie stay with him.
Fans Supported: McGee & Abby
They didn’t wind up together for the long haul, but there are some fans who still hold out hope for the two of them, even though Tim McGee is now married to someone else and Abby has left the series behind.
When McGee first recurred on the series in the freshman season, he consulted on cases and flirted with Abby. The two had a relationship off-screen that must have ended by the time he officially joined Gibbs’ team because it was always referenced in the past. McGee and Abby were some of the closest friends on the show afterward, which is why fans thought they might one day find their way back to each other.
Fans Rejected: Tony & Jeanne
Tony and Jeanne’s relationship is another victim of fan interest. Like many of his other relationships, he began dating Jean when fans were already rooting for him to be with someone else. It didn’t help that his relationship with her was revealed to be built on a lie.
Tony used an alias to get to know Jeanne Benoit under orders from Jenny Shepard. He romanced Jeanne to get close to her father’s operation. Jeanne’s father was the person Shepard believed was responsible for her own father’s death. With all of those complications in the middle of their relationship, it never would have worked. Fans were right to doubt them.
Fans Supported: McGee & Delilah
This might be one of the only times fans rooted for a new relationship when they were still holding out hope for one of the past. Though plenty of people wanted McGee and Abby to find romance together again, when McGee showed an interest in Delilah, a lot of fans were just happy to see him happy.
McGee and Delilah are one of the best examples the series has of a healthy romantic pairing. She hasn’t appeared in many episodes – just over a dozen in the last few years – but it’s clear how important their relationship is to the development of McGee’s character. They’ve been through tragedy and long-distance to come back together, marry, and have kids. Not many couples on NCIS get a happy ending, so fans are hoping these two do.
Fans Rejected: Tony & Paula
Paula was introduced early in the series run when Gibbs, Kate, and Tony were on a case in Cuba. Though Tony and Paula flirted a bit in the episode, their relationship didn’t occur until a season later and was mostly off-screen.
Paula only appeared in a handful of episodes, and she was a lot like Tony in her approach to relationships at the time: Playing games, flirting, and rarely taking things seriously. The two were too much alike to have a successful relationship, though that wasn’t what fans rejected them for. Instead, it was a result of Paula being introduced when fans were so sure there was something between Kate and Tony.
Fans Supported: Ellie & Nick
One of the newest potential relationships in the NCIS canon, this one hasn’t quite got off the ground. The writers seem to be taking a similar approach to these two as they did with Tony and Ziva, and NCIS fans love a slow burn from colleagues to romance.
While Ellie’s feelings aren’t exactly obvious, she’s had a rough go of it. Her last relationships ended in her husband cheating on her, and then her boyfriend was killed. Fans want her to be happy. Even Ziva David, who’s been gone from the series for years, recognizes that Nick has feelings for Ellie and encourages him to make a move. Fans believe it’s only a matter of time for these two.
