NCIS’ Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) may have enjoyed a whirlwind romance in their spinoff series, but their connection predates their move to Paris. Originally introduced as colleagues on the flagship series in season 3, their initial banter gradually evolved into a deeply flirtatious bond. Although they never officially dated during the original run, the pair achieved numerous romantic milestones and eventually had a child together before leaving NCIS to star in their one-season Paramount+ spinoff.
Despite spanning over a decade, the relationship between Tony and Ziva has weathered periods of stagnation and purely platonic friendship. However, the enduring nature of their bond—and the Paramount+ series giving them the spotlight—is a testament to the profound ground they cover together. Transforming from bickering partners into the most vital people in each other’s lives and co-parents, they navigate every milestone of the franchise together.
Seasons 1 And 2: Tony And Ziva Have Not Met Yet
Ziva is absent from the first two seasons of NCIS, which focus on establishing the core team and the dynamics among the agents working under Agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon). These opening seasons establish Tony as the most carefree member of the team. He provides the jokes and pop culture references while his colleagues remain laser-focused on their cases.
These early seasons allow Tony to serve as the comic relief for an otherwise heavy series, though he is also given his own serious moments. These moments set up the dramatic cliffhanger of his partner’s murder and his initial mistrust of Ziva in season 3. During this time, Ziva is established as a Mossad agent.
Season 3: Tony And Ziva Have A Rocky First Meeting
When Ziva is introduced in season 3, it is almost immediately after the team has laid Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander) to rest. In fact, the season 3 premiere is one of the essential NCIS episodes to understanding her original dynamic with Tony. Ziva is brought in as a consultant to help hunt down Caitlin’s killer.
Tony is distrustful of her at first and grows suspicious when it is revealed that Ziva is the sister of the man who killed Agent Todd. Despite his initial mistrust and even hostility toward Ziva, he soon softens and begins bantering with her about her English skills.
Their chemistry is especially highlighted when the two go undercover together as a married pair of assassins. Under surveillance by other government organizations, they successfully fool everyone around them, providing the first hint that there is more to their developing relationship than fans might have realized.
Season 4: Tony’s Trust In Ziva Is Firmly Cemented
NCIS Season 4 is the season that truly establishes the deep trust and care between Ziva and Tony. Though they continue to bicker throughout the season, it becomes clear that their bond involves deeper feelings than the simple attraction seen in season 3. When Ziva is accused of an assassination, she goes on the run seeking Gibbs’s help. Tony refuses to hear a bad word about her, convinced of her innocence despite other agents’ suspicions.
This care is mutual. Ziva begins to worry about Tony, noticing changes in his behavior and an influx of hospital calls. It is eventually revealed that Tony has started dating a doctor as part of an undercover operation, a storyline that bleeds into season 5.
Season 5: Ziva’s Jealousy Is Highlighted When Tony Goes Undercover
The two are firmly partners in this season, but any potential romantic feelings are set aside in favor of the job and their other relationships. Ziva is the only team member to notice that Tony’s behavior is out of character. While his undercover operation weighs on him, Ziva initially interprets his distance as him dating someone else and grows jealous.
Tony’s undercover work for Director Shepherd (Lauren Holly) becomes complicated because he has real feelings for the woman whose father is an international arms dealer. Ziva also begins a relationship with someone she meets while undercover, pushing them further apart. When the long-running undercover assignment does not end as expected, Gibbs’ team is placed under a microscope. Acting Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carrol) opts to split them up at the end of the season, making Tony an agent afloat and terminating Ziva’s position with the team.
Season 6: Tony And Ziva Take One Step Forward And Two Steps Back
NCIS season 6 is frustrating for fans of Tony and Ziva. Just as the two seem to be making progress toward admitting their feelings for one another, obstacles arise. The season begins with the team split up and Tony keeping a picture of Ziva in his bunk on the Navy ship where he is assigned. While this is not revisited immediately, the two do get to know each other better. Ziva begins to appreciate some of Tony’s more childish habits, such as when he enters an air guitar contest.
She also disobeys direct orders to protect him during wargame exercises designed to ferret out a mole. It seems the season planned to reveal Ziva’s feelings for Tony outright, but instead, it reveals that she is dating someone new. The pair end up in a bad place when Tony must kill Ziva’s new boyfriend in self-defense after the man acts as a Mossad agent on US soil. It seems like they might never make progress when Ziva cannot trust Tony in the aftermath.
Season 7: Tony Proves He Is Always There For Ziva
Season 7 kicks off in a big way with the episode “Truth Or Consequences.” Tony and McGee (Sean Murray) go on a mission to rescue Ziva after she is presumed lost at sea. In reality, she was kidnapped, held prisoner, and tortured between seasons 6 and 7.
While it is a horrible position for Ziva, it prompts Tony to admit his feelings for her in a roundabout way.
When Tony and McGee are also captured, Tony tells Ziva under the influence of truth serum that he “couldn’t live without” her. Tony proves that he has Ziva’s back after she was hesitant to trust him following the end of season 6, and the two begin a path toward a working relationship again.
Ziva even officially becomes a probationary agent for NCIS, earning all the teasing about being the latest “probie” on the team.
Overall, this season pulls back from the attraction and potential romance to give Ziva and Tony a chance to build a solid foundation of friendship, which is a smart choice. It still teases the fans, though.
The season 7 episode “Jet Lag” is the one many NCIS fans pinpoint as the tipping point for Tony and Ziva. The two, on assignment in Paris, both lie about sleeping on the couch in their shared hotel room. While just what happened is never explained, the implication is enough to hint that this is where everything changed.
Season 8: Tony And Ziva See Other People
Season 8 is not particularly eventful for Tony and Ziva. While Tony attempts a few different relationships, they are short-lived, and it is easy to see his heart isn’t in them. Ziva, on the other hand, has a more long-term relationship. That relationship crumbles when she finds out the man is actually a CIA agent, highlighting Ziva’s own trust issues. Though it might not seem like a lot of progress, it does allow each of them to grow separately after spending so much time ensuring they got to know and trust one another over the past five seasons.
Season 9: NCIS Pulls Back On Tony Ziva’s Relationship Even More
Like season 8, season 9 does not put Tony and Ziva in focus. This NCIS season, however, puts a bigger focus on fan-favorite supporting characters like Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) and Dr. Mallard (David McCallum). It’s the season finale that reminds the audience just how close Tony and Ziva still are despite all the bumps in their relationship. In NCIS season 9, episode 24, a terrorist threat becomes reality for NCIS.
Even when Ziva knows that an explosion is coming, she refuses to leave the NCIS building without Tony. Ziva has to know that Tony is safe before she is willing to do anything else. It’s a powerful reminder that Ziva is willing to die for Tony, just as he put his life on the line for her before.
Season 10: Ziva And Tony Almost Admit Their Feelings Multiple Times
Though Ziva and Tony are still not in a relationship after seven years of will-they-won’t-they, season 10 makes their relationship feel truly inevitable. The season features some of the most romantic Tony and Ziva moments in all of NCIS. Tony starts to pay attention to the little things in Ziva’s life, like her obsessive attempt to get opera tickets. He ends up gifting her a CD of opera music when he finds out that opera is only important to Ziva because it was important to her late sister.
This season also sees the two of them work together on cases without the rest of the team. It also sees Tony offering his unconditional support for Ziva after her father is murdered. When Ziva’s father dies, it is Tony who is there every step of the way. He offers Ziva a place to stay at his own apartment when there is concern that she may be targeted as well. He sees her off when she flies her father home. He is also her partner on assignments to get justice for her father, despite the possibility of them being emotionally compromised.
While working in Berlin, the two dance together, hold hands, and seem on the verge of finally admitting the depth of their feelings together. Unfortunately, they are interrupted by a massive car accident, and NCIS seems poised to pull them apart again.
Season 11: Ziva And Tony Admit Their Feelings For The First Time
Ziva only appears in the first two episodes of season 11 because she opts to leave NCIS. Tony follows Ziva to Israel to talk things out with her, and the two finally admit how they feel without outside influences or interruptions. Unfortunately for Tony, Ziva decides to remain in Israel, while he returns to his job at NCIS. The two share a kiss goodbye on the tarmac ahead of Tony’s flight out, and it is definitely more bitter than sweet for the audience since the separation means the pairing never becomes an official couple on screen.
The audience, however, does get a surprise when the implication that more happened off-screen than they might have known is realized in season 13.
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