The eleventh season of the police procedural drama NCIS premiered on September 24, 2013, in the same time slot as the previous seasons, Tuesdays at 8 pm. Special Agent Ziva David, departs during the season with her final appearance being in "Past, Present and Future". The episode "Crescent City ", which aired on March 25, 2014, serves as the first of a two-part backdoor pilot of a second spin off from NCIS called based in New Orleans.
C. C. H. Pounder as Loretta Wade, Jefferson Parish Medical Examiner for NCIS in New Orleans
Production
On February 1, 2013, CBS renewed NCIS for this season. The same date Mark Harmon extended his contract on the show with a new "multiyear deal" with CBS. It was announced on July 10, 2013 that Cote de Pablo, who plays Ziva David, had chosen not to return for the eleventh season as a regular. She will appear in enough episodes to close out her character's storylines. Because of de Pablo's exit, showrunner Gary Glasberg had to change his planned storyline for season 11. "Someone asked me if I was planning for this, but I really wasn't, so basically the minute that this became real, I had to throw out a lot of what I was planning to do and start from scratch". Glasberg has stated that there will be rotating characters coming to fill Ziva's role. The theme for the season is "unlocking demons", both figurative and literal according to Glasberg. A "pretty interesting adversary" about the theme will be introduced, and "that will carry through the season".
Casting
returned for the premiere episode as Defense Department investigator Richard Parsons, a character introduced at the end of the tenth season, while Marina Sirtis returned in the second episode as Mossad Director Orli Elbaz. Joe Spano also reprised his role as Senior FBI Agent Tobias C. Fornell in the first two episodes. Muse Watson appeared in the fourth episode. Ralph Waite and Robert Wagner are also confirmed to return. Diane Neal reprises her role CGIS Special Agent Abigail Borin in episode six "Oil & Water". The second episode includes a character named Sarah Porter, played by Leslie Hope, who is the new Secretary of the Navy, while Margo Harshman has been cast in a potentially recurring role as Timothy McGee's girlfriend, Delilah Fielding. The third episode introduces retiring NCIS Special Agent Vera Strickland who has known Gibbs for many years. On August 13, 2013, "casting intel" on a new female character named Bishop was published, with filming scheduled to mid-October. Bishop is described as a "twentysomething female bright, educated, athletic, attractive, fresh-faced, focused and somewhat socially awkward. She has a mysterious mixture of analytic brilliance, fierce determination and idealism. She's traveled extensively, but only feels comfortable at home." Emily Wickersham was cast to play the character, named NSA Analyst Ellie Bishop. Wickersham was promoted to the main cast, two weeks prior of her debut appearance. Her first appearance is in episode nine, "Gut Check". Scott Bakula was considered for an undisclosed recurring role this season. He was later cast as Dwayne Pride in .
