'NCIS' boss previews Emily Wickersham debut

NSA analyst Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham) is going to be the guiding light in an NCIS investigation in Tuesday night’s episode, but, as most fans have already heard, this is just the beginning of our journey with the character.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Wickersham, originally slated for an arc of episodes, was joining the show as a series regular, a move exec producer Gary Glasberg says he felt good making after seeing what the actress brought to the table. “Really what happened was Emily showed up and we gave her this script and this character and she really brought it to life,” he says. “She brought eccentricity and nuance and quirk and heart to a character that, until then, we had only been looking at on paper. Once we started to see and feel the chemistry with people on screen — and off, as well — we realized that we had something really special.”

Per the clip below, Bishop comes into the story after NCIS stumbles upon a paper she wrote that mimics a case they are working on. “Because she wrote the playbook, she becomes a valuable part of the investigation,” Glasberg teases. “So we keep her on for this case and by the end of the case, Gibbs senses something special in her.”

After the episode, Bishop will stay with the NSA for a period of time but her services will be utilized by NCIS. (“There are agencies who loan out their people all the time in one way or another,” says Glasberg.) “It’s a really organic, nice fit,” Glasberg says. “It’s really interesting when you see someone come in and they bring something new, different and fun. But everything we still love and enjoy about NCIS is there. It’s just a little different. It’s new and it’s fresh and that’s what got us excited.”

Check out a clip below.