Through the upcoming NCIS spinoff, NCIS: Tony and Ziva, fans of the long-running procedural will finally be reunited with the fan-favorite special agents. This, of course, means Michael Weatherly’s Tony DiNozzo, who most recently made a surprise return in the Ducky tribute episode, will be back in full force. According to him, Tom Selleck’s Magnum P.I. actually played a big role in creating Tony, and now I can't wait to see that influence when his character returns for this new series.
While rewatching an episode of NCIS with Cote de Pablo for their podcast, Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch, the two got to talking about one particular scene where the characters are at a crime scene, and Tony geeks out over finding an authentic Magnum P.I. Hawaiian shirt. Weatherly revealed just how important Magnum really is to Tony, and it makes a whole lot of sense:
Well, his enthusiasm for pop culture, and his enthusiasm for particularly shows produced by Donald P. Bellisario in the ‘80s. But the Magnum P.I. piece of DiNozzo is really important because Magnum P.I. is about a kind of overgrown kid who has all these enthusiasms and wears his Hawaiian shirt and gets excited about the Ferrari and lives on a Robin Masters estate in Hawaii and has his buddies. I mean, he's almost like a kind of a teenager in a sense.
Both NCIS and OG Magnum P.I. were created by Donald Bellisario, which is why there are frequent mentions of the show and other Bellisario projects on the long-running procedural. It’s nice to see some inspiration pulled from Magnum and references as well. The two are certainly similar in a lot of ways and not just because of their big kid personalities, as Weatherly pointed out:
He’s like a very young energy, Magnum P.I., but he also has PTSD as a war veteran from the Vietnam War. He has lost people very close to him, people have blown up in front of him. He's lost. I think that DiNozzo, as a kid, watched Magnum P.I. Different than myself, I think. His mother died, he had a father who was not present, and he was running around. And I think that a character like Magnum P.I...
That might be one of the best things about entertainment, is that it is a form of escape for people, no matter what they’re going through. Tony does make quite a lot of pop culture references, and it’s arguably one of the best things about him. It can be a serious moment at a crime scene, and he brings up how something is like a movie from several decades ago. Knowing that there’s a deeper reason why he does that makes it all the better, especially since the job can get pretty dark, even with Weatherly's BTS pranks:
So when you see DiNozzo… it's not really silly to him. This is really like an emotional part of his childhood that made him feel safe. So when he talks about the buttons being made from a certain palm frond or whatever the hell it is, he knows the minutiae and the details because it's meaningful to him.
It’s very likely that when NCIS: Tony and Ziva premieres for Paramount+ subscribers, the pop culture, movie and show references will not stop. It should also give him more reason to include many international references as well, which will be something to look forward to. The possibilities are endless for storylines and what will happen in the series as Tony, Ziva, and Tali are on the run across Europe, meaning the possibilities for references are endless.
It would be fun if there was another Magnum P.I. reference in Tony and Ziva since the series and Thomas Magnum mean a lot to Tony and his overall character. Fans will just have to tune in to the upcoming spinoff to see what happens.
While a premiere date has yet to be announced, now would be a good time to binge-watch the original Magnum to see where the inspiration for Tony came from and why it’s so important. Unfortunately, the show and the retro TV theme song that still slaps aren't streaming anywhere, but it can be purchased on apps such as Apple TV, Google Play, and Prime Video.
