Gibbs' life is in jeopardy, The Calling terrorist cell is still recruiting teenagers and Tony is in charge of the search for the shooters when "NCIS" returns for its 13th season on Tuesday night.
[SPOILER ALERT: The rest of this story contains spoilers for the upcoming season of “NCIS.”]
In a previous story, we've already revealed that Gibbs (Mark Harmon) survives his shooting after being flown to a Navy ship in the Persian Gulf for surgery. But, even so, he isn't going to emerge from the incident the same man.
"You're going to see physical changes, you're going to see emotional changes, you're going to see an accessibility in terms of who he is as a person." executive producer Gary Glasberg tells FOX411 in an exclusive interview. "It sets up a whole dynamic that will trickle down to the rest of the team for the rest of the season."
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So what is the trickledown effect? Glasberg answered our questions about each member of the team:
1. What is Tony doing while Gibbs is out of commission?0
Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and CIA Officer Joanna Teague (Mimi Rogers) are on a manhunt for Daniel Budd and The Calling following Gibbs' shooting, getting into some pretty action-packed situations in the second half of the premiere episode. Then, just when Tony returns to the U.S. to rejoin the team, they get a lead on Budd's location.
"It's taken months of tracking down Daniel Budd. Then the rest of the episode takes them to Shanghai, where Budd is now focused," Glasberg says. "We pick up on his trail, and it's like a little movie. There's a tremendous international flavor to this episode, and the roller coaster ride of what Gibbs is going through as well."
2. With Tony in Iraq, is McGee in charge of the team?
McGee (Sean Murray) has come a long way since his probie days, and his growth is going to continue in Season 13. As the troubles that Gibbs is dealing with continues to trickle down, McGee is going to have to step up.
"We're going to see personal growth with Delilah and we're going to watch probie continue to evolve into a really strong agent," Glasberg says. "Those skills are going to get tested not only at the beginning of the season but throughout the season. There's some really challenging stuff coming up for McGee."
3. Isn't Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham) too green to not miss the confidence boost she gets from Gibbs?
"Absolutely," Glasberg says. "And Bishop is going to be going through some stuff. She's going to be facing some surprising marriage issues and that's going to trickle down to how she handles herself as an agent and matures as an agent. So, Bishop is really going to evolve into something more as well."
4. Abby (Pauley Perrette) loses it when one of her team members is hurt. What is she going to be up to during this time?
"Episode five, which is prepping right now, is a huge Abby story," Glasberg says. "I call it the 'Abby Die Hard' story because she goes to visit another lab and ends up in a situation where she really has to creatively use her wits in order to stay alive. It's a tremendous amount of fun. We're excited about it."
5. Is it true that Director Vance is going back into the field on an undercover assignment?
Vance has a case that's very close to him that he feels that he has to participate in and it gives him the opportunity to find a little fire in his belly that sometimes sitting behind a desk someone in his position loses.
"Vance and Gibbs actually end up in this kind of buddy cop situation for an episode, which has been a lot of fun for them," Glasberg says. "The two of them work very closely together and we get into the sort of lightness and the banter and the fun of the two of them being on stakeouts together. It's a nice alternative view of the director in terms of his roots and, by the end of the episode, the director is back and better than ever."
The intent for Season 13 is to shake things up a little bit and keep the show fresh for its fans to watch. One way that Glasberg does that is to watch the news for fresh ideas, but keep in mind, it is important not to stray too far from the show that viewers love.
"I'm always trying to understand what's happening in the landscape of terrorism and crime and how it affects the military and how it affects the Navy and the Marine Corps specifically," Glasberg says. "I wouldn't say we're a ripped-from-the-headlines type of show, but once in a while we come up with something and it seems like we're pretty close to what's happening currently."
"NCIS" premieres its 13th season on Tuesday, Sept. 22 on CBS.
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