He continued: “These surprises that happened in front of the audience were a surprise to many, many people who worked on the show that were that were not told about what we were going to do. There was a whole thing we did where that scene was never published.”
NCIS executive producer talks tightly-guarded secret behind Cote De Pablo’s return
NCIS executive producer Mark Horowitz has opened up about the intense ‘fight club rules’ surrounding actress Cote De Pablo’s surprise cameo apperance on the show
NCIS executive producer Mark Horowitz has lifted the lid on the tightly-guarded secrecy that went behind bringing back actress Cote De Pablo to the show.
Cote starred on NCIS as a former Israeli Mossad officer named Ziva David for eight seasons – from season 3 to 20 – before exiting the show as a main cast member. And while fans believed her beloved character was killed off the show for good after a deadly explosion, many were stunned when she made her grand cameo appearance in the final moments of the season 16 finale.
After pulling off the jaw-dropping surprise, the executive producer in charge admitted it was no easy feat. Speaking on the top-secret preparation behind Cote’s return, at a Off Duty: An NCIS
He spilled: “Everything was separate. This happened when Kate was shot on the rooftop, that’s where it started. And we came up with what I called Fight Club Rules. ‘We’re invoking Fight Club rules, we’re just not going to talk about it. And I mean you’re not going to talk to your wife, your husband, your kids, your friends at the bar, nobody.’ And we were able to pull this off.”
All of Mark’s meticulous planning ultimately paid off and Cote’s comeback was everything he had hoped for and more. Speaking on her dramatic entrance, he said: “I forbid anyone to take any pictures, but I was there at my camera, and there’s this moment where suddenly a hush came over the stage, and echoing from the distance are footsteps, very distinct boots coming closer and closer, closer. And everyone turned and looked and waited. And then from around this corner becomes Cote de Pablo. It was a wonderful, wonderful m
Cote De Pablo made a shocking return to NCIS during the season 16 finale (
Image:
CBS via Getty Images)
Mark confessed that only a dozen of people were in on the plans and that their script “only existed on one piece of paper.” He explained that in order to ensure nothing was leaked beforehand, their small team kept everything private and didn’t release the news to agents or most of the cast.
