Is history about to repeat itself? Stop us if you\u2019ve heard this before: Team boss\u2019 family is murdered, and he kills the murderer out of revenge. (Sure, Mark Harmon<\/a>\u2018s Gibbs wasn\u2019t the boss when he did it, but it\u2019s similar enough.) At the end of last season, Special Agent Alden Parker (Gary Cole<\/a>) found his father Roman (Francis X. McCarthy) shot dead in his home. Parker is confident his long-time nemesis, mob boss Carla Marino (Rebecca De Mornay<\/a>), pulled the trigger because she blames him for her son\u2019s death. His motorcycle accident occurred right after Parker informed him of Carla\u2019s illegal activities.<\/p>\n For over two decades, NCIS<\/a><\/em> has been a consistent, entertaining presence in CBS\u2019s primetime lineup that really ups its game when it gets personal for the agents. When the drama picks up in Season 23, we\u2019ll see flashbacks of Parker in his teen years as he goes rogue. \u201cHe was a rough kid \u2014 in juvie homes, in trouble, arrested all the time, breaking the rules, not caring about who was between him when he wanted to go from A to B,\u201d executive producer Steven D. Binder<\/a> explains. Now, \u201che is pissed.\u201d Flashbacks to 1977 will show a younger Parker (played again by Harrison Leahy) and his relationships with his father (Mark Lawson as a young Roman) and sister (Alexa Nisenson<\/a> as a young Harriet).<\/p>\n Sonja Flemming\/CBS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe dynamic between Parker and his sister [Nancy Travis<\/a>] as adults is going to revert to the dynamic between them when they were [younger]. Alden Parker is a competent former FBI, current NCIS agent who seems pretty squared away,\u201d notes Binder before pointing to his aforementioned past as a troubled youth. \u201cHis sister was the good child. He was causing a lot of problems for himself, for their family, for their father, which is a regret he has now. If you\u2019re a family member, his actions have gotten dad killed. Take that dynamic from childhood and bring it to the present with a brother and sister, and sparks are going to fly.\u201d<\/p>\n Parker\u2019s team \u2014 agents Timothy McGee (Sean Murray<\/a>, the longest-running cast member, having recurred in Season 1 and upped to series regular the following year), Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama<\/a>), Jessica Knight (Katrina Law<\/a>), forensic scientist Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover<\/a>), and chief medical examiner Dr. Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen<\/a>) \u2014 will face a dilemma when it comes to helping him. \u201cThe team is specifically told to make sure he doesn\u2019t go anywhere and do anything,\u201d says the EP. Will they follow those orders or join Parker in his pursuit? Our exclusive photos (above and below) suggest the latter, with Torres and Knight meeting a man who may have information about Roman\u2019s murder. \u201cYou\u2019ll like the answer,\u201d Binder promises. Palmer also has to decide when to tell Parker what he found in his mother\u2019s original death certificate.<\/p>\n In the past, Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll<\/a>) has helped his agents in similar positions. Not this time. \u201cWe\u2019ve often played Director Vance telling his team they need to get back in the box, then he goes, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, and leaves the file on his desk while he leaves the office so they can look through something they need to. That\u2019s not the case this time,\u201d warns Binder. There are \u201cmysterious reasons\u201d for why he\u2019s going back to being \u201cvery by the book.\u201d The resulting conflict between Parker and Vance will still affect them beyond the episodes that resolve the Carla arc.<\/p>\n Sonja Flemming\/CBS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Following that \u2014 \u201cWe feel like this storyline is nearing its conclusion, and we are going to hasten that,\u201d says Binder \u2014 the other characters will get their own arcs in line with Season 23\u2019s theme, \u201cNCIS on fire.\u201d The EP teases, \u201cAt various points, they\u2019re all going to have their explosive moments.\u201d<\/p>\n For McGee, it\u2019s \u201csomething that is shocking to him but also wonderful and really scary\u201d involving family. Who specifically, Binder won\u2019t say. Torres is going to get back into dating \u201cin a way that\u2019s going to cause a lot of problems for everybody,\u201d but, adds the EP, \u201cthe heart wants what the heart wants.\u201d Knight gets picked for NCIS Elite \u2014 the team Sam Hanna (NCIS: LA<\/em><\/a>\u2018s LL Cool J<\/a>) ran that was ambushed and killed on Hawai\u2019i<\/em><\/a> \u2014 but it will \u201cblow up in her face in a really emotionally charged way,\u201d he warns. There are some things \u201coutside the creative\u201d that must fall into place for that \u201cKill Bill<\/em> arc\u201d to happen, he admits. That doesn\u2019t involve getting LL Cool J back (he guest starred last season), and there aren\u2019t any firm plans to have any past or spinoff cast members appear this season.<\/p>\n![\"Katrina](\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ncis-2301-knight-torres-855x570.jpg\")
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![\"Wilmer](\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ncis-2301-torres-854x570.jpg\")
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