Of all the actors who’ve appeared on NCIS over the course of its multi-decade run on CBS, Joe Spano has racked up the most appearances of anyone outside of the main cast, having appeared as Tobias Fornell in 58 episodes, as well as one episode of NCIS: New Orleans. Even more impressive, Spano has popped up in all but one season of the procedural franchise’s flagship show, and hopefully we’ll see him again when Season 22 starts airing on the 2024 TV schedule. However, the actor has never wanted to become an NCIS series regular, and he explained
In addition to reminiscing about the time he hugged and comforted Cote de Pablo shortly before she departed NCIS early into Season 11, Joe Spano shared his thoughts on Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch to her and fellow former NCIS cast member Michael Weatherly about why joining the show’s main cast isn’t something that appeals to him. In his words:
I didn’t want to have to do what you guys were doing. Not so much the time, but what it does to you… I could see it. It’s unspeakable, actually, ’cause you’re turned into something, and you have to be that to a certain extent. Promoting the show, reacting to people who see you in a certain way. That’s not really who you are, but you want to cater to it for your job and for them, but doing that over and over again, I think you lose track of who you are. Not that anybody knows who they are at all, but sometimes you have some leeway, right just to finding something new for yourself. But in that, it’s always being pushed on, and pushing back or not pushing back, and being crushed by it.
Joe Spano has experience being a series regular from his time as Henry Goldblume on Hill Street Blues, one of those detective shows you may have forgotten about. And yet, he never wanted to hold such a position for NCIS, or it sounds like any other show, because he’s not a fan of having to alter his personality in order to promote said show. Clearly he’s enjoyed his time on NCIS, but he’s comfortable remaining a recurring player for that reason rather than it taking up too much of his time.
Specific details are still light on what’s coming up in NCIS Season 22, which will see Sean Murray’s Timothy McGee achieving the record for most appearances in the franchise. However, Wilmer Valderrama, who plays Nick Torres, has teased that the new season will be “more personal, more soul-shattering,” and showrunner Steven D. Binder shared that it’s “not entirely clear” to Gary Cole’s Alden Parker who the little girl was that he saw in his flashback/hallucination in the Season 21 finale. Then, of course, there’s the question of how Jessica Knight will continue participating in the show given that she agreed to become the new REACT instructor at Camp Pendleton, yet Katrina Law is sticking around as a series regular.
NCIS Season 22 premieres Monday, October 14, and the Leroy Jethro Gibbs-focused prequel NCIS: Origins will follow immediately afterwards. Use your Paramount+ subscription to stream the entirety of the procedural franchise, and remember that the platform will also be the exclusive home for Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo’s spinoff NCIS: Tony & Ziva.