For Wilmer Valderrama and Emily Wickersham, hitting 500 episodes of NCIS isn’t just about breaking network television records — it’s about the people who’ve grown up with the show. Speaking with Collider for our expansive Collider Rewind look back at the legacy of the franchise, the actors reflected on what’s kept the long-running series going for more than two decades, pointing to its focus on deeply human, relatable characters and the way it’s become part of viewers’ everyday lives.

Wickersham first joined NCIS in Season 11 in a recurring role before being promoted to series regular later that same season. She went on to play Ellie Bishop for seven seasons before exiting the show, only to return in the current Season 23. Valderrama, meanwhile, joined as a series regular in Season 14 and has portrayed Nick Torres ever since. Over the years, Bishop and Torres developed a classic will-they-won’t-they dynamic — one that quickly became a fan-favorite and drew comparisons to some of the franchise’s most iconic relationships. That storyline was ultimately cut short by Wickersham’s departure, but now, with her return (albeit for just one episode), fans are once again tuning in and hoping Season 23 might finally deliver the payoff they’ve been waiting for.

During our conversation, Valderrama described NCIS as something that evolves alongside its audience, while Wickersham highlighted how it’s created a shared experience across generations—parents, grandparents, and kids all watching together. Together, their perspective frames the franchise not just as a global hit, but as a lasting source of comfort and connection for millions of fans. You can read the full interview below, and stay tuned for more epic NCIS conversations this week.

COLLIDER: Talking about the 500th episode, when it airs, NCIS will have now surpassed Grey’s Anatomy, Family Guy, and classics like Bonanza. What do you think it is about NCIS that has made it such a mainstay on television?

WILMER VALDERRAMA: It’s a beautiful question. Every year, the show defies the odds of gravity by continuing and having this many people watch. I mean, last year, over 300 million people watched around the world. You think about those numbers, and you think about what this show might have actually meant to people at different times of their personal journeys and their lifespans, or the families that have seen children be born and gone off to college throughout the run of the show. It’s something incredibly special.

When you ask, what’s the secret sauce? We’ve understood what the show really is about, and it’s about the people solving the cases. It’s about creating these characters that you can see yourself in, and then also go through some kind of subliminal journey, spiritual journey, physical journey, where it goes like, “Okay, I know what they’re going through.” And you get answers, and you get to places. So, I think in many ways, NCIS has had a soulful journey, as any individual has. The show performs as a living organism, so everything you see on that screen is alive. It’s not a character that you’re just watching solve a crime of the week, and to me, that’s the gift, right?

I knew the show was incredibly special before I joined it. I joined in Season 14, I’m going into Season 24 next year, and I’ll tell you, the thing that really sticks out to me is that the people behind the characters are just as special as the people who are on-screen, and that’s something that is also part of the secret sauce.

‘NCIS’ Has Cracked the Code for Continuing to be a “Good Show”

“It’s been so cool to have that experience from fans over the years.”

Image via CBS

That’s such a beautiful answer. Emily, do you have anything to add to that, or did he hit the nail on the head?

EMILY WICKERSHAM: He always hits the nail on the head. He’s so good at this. But I think that, I’m sure, Wilmer, you’ve experienced this also, that different generations of people will come up to you and be like, “I watched the show with my grandma. I was a little kid, and I watched with my grandma, or my mom, or my dad.” It’s built this connection between generations, which I’ve always thought was so cool, that a grandparent watched it with their grandson or granddaughter, because it’s been on for so long that it does have this special quality about it. It’s been in people’s living rooms for so long, of different ages, and I always have found that so special that everyone has been able to have this shared experience with these characters over the years.

There are so many episodes to watch. People who are in hospital beds or whatever have so many wonderful episodes they can just throw on the TV, and it’s become this comfort. It’s been so cool to have that experience from fans over the years.

VALDERRAMA: You nailed it there. That’s one of the most special things is when you either are walking through an airport or you’re walking through a mall, and you’re walking down the street and somebody comes up and is like, “Hey, I just want you to know, I lost my grandfather or my father two years ago, and I keep watching NCIS because it’s the one thing that connects me to them.” What a gift, and what a beautiful responsibility to continue to be a good show.

I think that’s part of the beauty of the show. It’s one of those very few shows still in our lifetime that can bring families together in the living room. I think we’ve lost a lot of that viewership in television. There are so many options, there are so many genres, there are so many age groups that have specialty shows dedicated to them. Shows that bring us all together in one cohesive, extraordinary experience are very few. So, I think for CBS to continue to cultivate that NCIS night and to continue to give families a place where they can watch together, it’s cool enough, it’s seasoned enough, and it’s mature enough that that gets people talking together. I feel like it’s been the greatest gift in my life, in my career, to be able to see that through this show.

It’s really been such a gift for fans. I’ve actually been watching NCIS since it first started as a backdoor pilot on JAG, so it’s been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I have a lot of fond memories tied to it. I was also thinking about how you both came into the show in Season 10 and Season 14, and I’m curious what that experience was like — especially the audition process. Did you go back and watch specific episodes to get a feel for where the show was at, its tone, or how your characters might fit into that world at the time?

WICKERSHAM: I went in pretty blind, if I’m being completely honest. I actually hadn’t watched much of NCIS before my audition. There were several episodes to watch, and I watched a few. The audition process was really cool, and I think very different from Wilmer’s, where I auditioned with a few girls, and we did scenes on the actual set for the tests with the actual actors at the stages, and it was so cool, I felt, the way they went about it. In a way, it took the pressure off because it was like it doesn’t matter if you get the job, you just kind of have the job for the day, and that went for all the actors auditioning.

I just had the best time. It was Sean Murray, Michael Weatherly and Mark Harmon for those tests, and everyone was wonderful. I had such a great experience. I didn’t know if I was going to get it or not, and I did, and it changed my life.

And the rest is history, right?

WICKERSHAM: Yeah!

Wilmer Valderrama Resisted the Call for ‘NCIS’ Until it Was the Right Moment

“You guys don’t need anything. Your cast is stacked.”

Image via Michael Yarish/CBS

VALDERRAMA: I would say for me, yeah, we had a little bit of a different experience. Years before I actually joined NCIS, there was this opportunity to join NCIS: Los Angeles, and I wasn’t ready at that moment. I was doing some other stuff. There were a couple of things that I had on the horizon that I really wanted to see through, and the timing wasn’t right for NCIS: Los Angeles, for me, so it didn’t happen.

But then, years later, I was shooting Minority Report, which lasted one season, and then I was shooting From Dusk Till Dawn with Robert Rodriguez. I was covered in gunpowder and fake blood and vampire fangs, and Robert Rodriguez directed, and I’m in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and I get this phone call from my team, and they’re like, “Hey, an offer came in for you to join NCIS.” And I was like, “I don’t know, man. That show is like the number one show on television. I feel like they won’t need me.” I feel like going to a show that needs you is so much more rewarding because you get to contribute on a greater level. They’re like, “But just take the meeting!” And I was like, “I don’t know. I don’t know. I think I’m okay.” Then I got back in town from shooting the show and they’re like, “Just take the meeting with the showrunner.” And I was like, “Alright.”

I’d just done this pilot for CBS Studios, where I played a young colonel in a show called Four Stars. It was a beautiful show. Unfortunately, at that time, there was no slots because nothing got canceled on CBS, so the show didn’t go, even though the show was really, really good. I think the network and Amy Rosenberg, who was our current executive on NCIS at the time, now the president of the network. She had seen that pilot and she had said, “What about Wilmer Valderrama for this part?” And I was like, “What?” Then she talked to the team, Mark Harmon, talked to everyone, and they’re like, “Yeah, that sounds like an interesting idea.” So I met with the showrunner, Gary Glasberg, rest in peace, and I was like, “Hey, man, look, I’m taking the meeting. I really appreciate it. I’m very flattered, but you guys are number one. You guys don’t need anything. Your cast is stacked.”

Then that’s when he told me that Michael Weatherly was leaving, and they wanted to shake things up in the squad room. They wanted to do something different. I was like, “Well, I don’t know how different, because I don’t know that I’m going to be playing what he was to the show.” And he said, “Well, what do you want to create?” And that’s when my ears went like, “Create? I can create my own character from scratch?” And then we’re having this conversation, and he’s like, “Look, man, the next two years are picked up. You get to have a journey to build a character you would like to play.” He said, “Not a lot of people are running up to the bad guy anymore, so we need to actually go chase the bad guys.” So, long story short, I was like, “Well, this is an interesting opportunity.”

By the way, in referencing Cote de Pablo and giving her her flowers, a Latina who played a really beautiful, strong character on that show, yet she was never allowed to play a Latina; she played an Israeli character, you know? I just felt like, “Wow, this will be the first Latino on the cast. Could be interesting. It could be fun. I could really spice it up. I could really be myself, unapologetically.” And the promises were right. They were just like, “Go. Fly.” So, we created a character that I felt was so different than NCIS had seen that I felt like, “At least I’m contributing something that dynamically feels different.” And I really loved it.

My first two days there were amazing. Emily and Sean Murray and Pauley Perrette, at the time, and that same year, Jennifer Esposito joined. Man, I was like, “This team is awesome!” The nicest crew in Hollywood. The writers just like to keep writing out amazing episodes, and they knew how to make my character sing. So, I had a lot of fun the first couple of years, and I realized, “Man, this really could be a home.” And I really worked very hard to make sure the fans knew that I was here with all respect, that I was here to build on what they had already seen, and that hopefully they would have me in their living rooms. And so far, I still got a job, so that’s pretty good.

Two things off of that. One, From Dusk Till Dawn, is one of the best shows ever. I loved it so much.

VALDERRAMA: Thank you!

Two, you mentioned here that this is 10 years going into your 10th season. What has being part of NCIS taught you as a member of a cast, especially when you have a show like this where there are so many guest stars, so many day players, so many supporting roles? How have you grown as an actor?

VALDERRAMA: Thank you for that. It’s a great question. The first thing that comes to mind is collaboration, to be at a place where nobody’s afraid to try things. When you have a show that gets 20-episode pickups, you’re like, “Alright, let’s try this this episode. Let’s make him a little moody on this episode. Let’s make him a little bit more of a ball-buster on this one.” You get to really try things. That’s one of the things I feel, that they have created such an environment for all of us to play and have fun, and the writers really are not very picky about how it’s interpreted. There’s a science for solving cases, but when it comes to letting our characters sing, they really let us cook, and so that makes it very fun. I think when you have that environment, you start swinging for the fences. You have a lot of fun. You come to work excited to do something different, and I think that that definitely was one of those elements.

The other environment is that everyone’s very grateful to have a job, and everyone’s very grateful to be there, and that feels refreshing. There’s no bitterness on set, and so that’s also really exciting.

But I don’t know, it’s a really loaded question because there’s like a million reasons and a million ways that I could answer that. I would say that what this show has really taught me is to lead with opinion and lead with solutions. I’m not going to complain about the script if I didn’t read it three days before. I’m not going to have an opinion on the scene unless I talked about days before, where the writers can actually have an opportunity to help you mold it into what you expect it to be. That level of respect for each other’s artistry, I think, is also kind of a great runway. But I think that’s the thing: lead with ideas and solutions, and help move the ball a little closer to the touchdown.

I love that answer. It was really astute.

WICKERSHAM: No, he’s so articulate. So good!

Bishop’s Return to ‘NCIS’ Was “So Serendipitous”

“It was like stepping back in time into this family that I really love.”

Don’t worry, Emily, I have one for you now.

VALDERRAMA: [Laughs] Oh, here we go!

Coming back as Bishop, I remember being so gutted when your character left, and I was so excited when the news came out that you were coming back. What was it like coming back? Because there have been so many cast changes, so many differences between now and then. How has it shaped your return for Bishop as well?

WICKERSHAM: It was so serendipitous and perfect the way it unfolded. Bishop went off and had to really shift her life. There was this fire that she didn’t want to put out, and I think that was happening for me in different ways as Emily. So, coming back to the show, the show really did change my life in so many ways. I feel like I really had the opportunity to work every day as an actor, and I got to learn how to act in a lot of ways. Because before you’re doing it every day, I found it very difficult to get into the rhythm, but you get into such a wonderful rhythm on this show. For 10 months out of the year, you’re sharing this experience with these people. You become so close. I don’t think I’ll actually ever have this experience again in my life, where I get the opportunity to go back.

I knew everybody. There were a few characters and a few new cast members that I didn’t know, and I got to know, and they’re wonderful. But a lot of the crew has stayed the same, and it was like stepping back in time into this family that I really love. It was such a special, wonderful experience for me, and I think for Bishop, as well. Coming back, Bishop had such a great period of her life, had so many incredible experiences at NCIS solving cases, and all this stuff, and just the day-to-day rapport with everyone there that there’s this familiar thing about NCIS where it was just cool. I knew I wouldn’t be as articulate as Wilmer.

VALDERRAMA: Oh my god!

WICKERSHAM: [Laughs] But it really was! It was cool. And I really don’t think I’ll ever experience anything like it again, both for myself and Bishop.

Tune into the 500th episode of NCIS tonight, and stay tuned for more Collider Rewind drops as we look back at the series’ legacy.

NCIS

Release Date

September 23, 2003

Showrunner

Donald P. Bellisario

Directors

Dennis Smith, Terrence O’Hara, Tony Wharmby, James Whitmore Jr., Thomas J. Wright, Michael Zinberg, Arvin Brown, Rocky Carroll, Diana Valentine, Leslie Libman, Tawnia McKiernan, Colin Bucksey, William Webb, Bethany Rooney, Alrick Riley, Jeff Woolnough, Alan J. Levi, Lionel Coleman, Martha Mitchell, Peter Ellis, Michael Weatherly, Edward Ornelas, Stephen Cragg, Tom Wright

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  Sean Murray

  Timothy McGee

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  david mccallum

  Dr. Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard