[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the NCIS Season 22 finale “Nexus.”]

The NCIS workforce may need to do with out pastries for some time: Parker (Gary Cole) isn’t going to be the Parker we’ve come to know and love when Season 23 begins.

That’s as a result of the final scene of the Season 22 finale noticed him arrive dwelling, after mob boss Carla Marino (Rebecca De Mornay) made it clear she blames him for her son’s dying (he informed him about her felony exercise) however killing him could be too simple, to discover his father useless. In the meantime, it seems that Laroche (Seamus Dever) isn’t soiled; he was working undercover for the Division of Justice.

Beneath, govt producer Steven D. Binder explains Parker’s father’s dying, teases how the agent will deal in Season 23, and way more. (Plus, learn a deep dive into the finale for Parker with Gary Cole right here.)

Why kill off Parker’s father and accomplish that in this fashion and at this level for him?

Steven D. Binder: The thought of Parker is a reasonably chill man, despite the fact that he’s had a distinct upbringing, a troubled upbringing. Whereas the earlier bullpen dynamic was you labored across the clock and by no means stopped and by no means had a life, he’s a extra balanced particular person. Gary’s a really balanced man himself once you see him and also you see that bleed over into the character, and we thought it will be very attention-grabbing to take that character and push him into a spot the place he’s by no means been earlier than. And that’s kind of been one thing we’ve been speaking about virtually from — writers get collectively and are like, “Yeah, this character is actually turning out to be even and balanced,” after which, “Let’s throw him off steadiness,” simply kind of an intuition you will have. In order that was all the time there circulating in our head: What’s it going to take to ship this man, flip this man into a person on fireplace?

And nothing actually was coming alongside. We didn’t really need to pressure something. After which a bunch of issues got here collectively and it simply appeared like, okay, how will we not do that now? You’ve received this arch nemesis of Parker’s who blames him for — dropping a dad’s unhealthy, however dropping a toddler’s significantly worse, and blames Parker for this and is vindictive and evil sufficient that she doesn’t need to simply kill him and finish that she needs to torture him and that is the individual she’s chosen to torture him with, or who could be the individual to torture him with? And it’s actually simply his dad at this level.

Talking of pushing him, to this point we’ve seen the speedy response from him — the sorrow, the craze, moving into that willpower to discover Carla. What are you able to tease about what that really appears like when he’s pushed for Season 23?

He isn’t going to discover his inside zen and never discover a good place right here. He’s going to be destabilized and he’s going to be out for revenge and out for blood in a manner that it’ll appear very atypical for somebody like him, not a manner you’d count on a personality like him to behave and but solely motivated and justified, which is what makes it attention-grabbing when folks get put in conditions the place they act in another way than they usually would. It’s not enjoyable to see the worst human being in the world go to a marriage and be the worst human being in the world, however instantly, you see the worst human being in the world go to a marriage and see his childhood sweetheart and now attempting to behave. That’s enjoyable. Or likewise, a man who’s a monk who spent 15 years at a retreat in Tibet coming to the US, and the way do you get that man upset after which doing it after which see what does he seem like when he’s upset? We had some precedent in the previous in our present with this. Gibbs [Mark Harmon] was a person on fireplace when his spouse and daughter had been killed. Bishop [Emily Wickersham] was a girl on fireplace when somebody was trying to kill Torres. We’re going to see a few of that.

What does that imply for the workforce then? As a result of he’s their chief.

Sure. That’s the issue right here is that not solely is he their chief, a cop and cops can’t do or not supposed to do issues. So that you’ll have a workforce attempting to shield him, attempting to discuss him off a ledge, presumably getting between him and his goal in a very uncomfortable flip of occasions. Not going to let you know the way it ends, nevertheless it’s going to create battle. It’s going to create a ton of battle because it has in the previous once we’ve had different folks on our workers on fireplace. I imagine, I don’t need to let you know what the author actually meant, however I imagine final time Bishop was in this place and the goal of her ire ended up useless, you’re left with a really robust notion that the explanation Bishop didn’t go all the way in which to kill him is as a result of Gibbs received to him first. There’s that shadow of Gibbs in an elevator because the door slowly closes and sluggish movement. I stated I don’t need to converse for the author. I simply remembered I wrote that. So yeah, there isn’t any conclusive line drawn in that episode, however you’re very a lot led to imagine that that’s what occurred and that’s messy and that’s soiled, nevertheless it’s additionally protecting in a manner. It’s protected her from making a improper determination by going and making the improper determination first. It’s f**ked up, and I believe we’re going to see a few of that.

So earlier than that, Palmer (Brian Dietzen) discovered one thing in Parker’s mother’s authentic dying certificates that didn’t add up. What are you able to say about that?

I can say that the post-mortem report that he’s , the info in the post-mortem report — there’s the gathering of issues., we acquire this, we measure this, we measure that, we provide you with our conclusion… I can let you know that the conclusion that Jimmy Palmer noticed doesn’t add — he noticed one thing in the info that makes him assume the conclusion in that post-mortem was not correct. And by implications, since we’re a cop present and never a youngsters’ present, somebody’s overlaying one thing up.

Sonja Flemming / CBS

Are you able to rule out it is a “she’s actually alive” state of affairs?

Yeah, wouldn’t that be good? That may be good. I can’t rule something out as a result of it hasn’t been written but. The board hasn’t been changed into define hasn’t been changed into a script. I can let you know that we consider each chance ever simply because that’s what writers do. And I don’t know if there’s worth in that. Is there worth in it? Are you able to get there with it? You write no matter you need, however are you able to get there in a manner that has the viewers alongside for the experience and never shark soar? And we talked about it in phrases of these phrases. We’ve talked about all kinds of issues. I can’t commit to something or rule something out simply just because it’s not shot and I don’t need to say one thing after which have it not be true as a result of then you definitely’ll by no means need to interview me once more.

So with Laroche leaving NCIS, what does this imply for McGee (Sean Murray) and the deputy director place?

The deputy director place and McGee’s relationship, that got here out of the introduction of this character of Laroche who was a grey character as we realized, a deep cowl mole, and proper in McGee’s face is insult to damage the man overseeing — McGee’s need for that got here out of Laroche’s character to start with. I’m undecided how a lot enjoyable there may be to be completely placing McGee in a center administration function. Deputy director, director, it’s kind of the identical factor on one degree. We’ve got a director [Rocky Carroll‘s Vance], we’ve a supervisor place on the present. Even when simply imagining from the most effective model of McGee’s promotion is that he really will get promoted to the true place the place issues really need to be accomplished and selections have to be made, not just a few center administration.

I don’t know that we’d need to do this as a result of we’d be seeing quite a bit much less of McGee. He’s nice the place he’s. I do know Sean loves the place that he’s at over time. We’ve all talked about promotions. There was when Gibbs left the present, it was, will we make McGee the workforce chief? What will we do with it? And it simply appears to be probably the most enjoyable and probably the most entertaining to have him the place he’s now. It’s solely once you begin speaking about the true world and what could be real looking, would a man of his expertise begin transferring up? And HR realism doesn’t make for good cop present, I don’t assume. There’s no plans to do this. Actually it’s all the time been actual enjoyable once we’ve had to stick McGee quickly in that place and he’s having fun with it and he’s loving it after which he’s received to hand the keys again to Vance. Or when Gibbs had accomplished it and was simply overwhelmed and didn’t need to do it. Although that hasn’t been absolutely written, I believe we’re going to go away it as is for now.

You’ve kind of taken a step again when it comes to Palmer and Knight (Katrina Regulation) and addressing something about their previous relationship with every little thing going on on the finish of the season. So what are you planning on doing about that subsequent season?

What we’re most likely not going to do is now they’re relationship once more after which they’re simply relationship once more. We did that. We had that. We ran with that and it went the place it ended up going, which is someplace extra attention-grabbing to a breakup after which seeing what it’s like to work with a coworker who you’ve damaged up with or seeing them relationship. I would like to ensure that this season is reflective of the actual fact that they had a relationship and discover a place that’s extra attention-grabbing or battle is the improper phrase, as a result of that seems like I’m implying battle between two of those characters, however I’m utilizing that phrase in a dramatic narrative author sense. The place’s it attention-grabbing? The place’s the battle for this dynamic between these two? And I believe we’re going to go there now. Might they finish again collectively once more? Completely. However for now, we broke them up to deliver them to a brand new place. And we’re nonetheless in the method of going to that bench touchstone first earlier than we determine the place we’re going to take us. We nonetheless have a bit of extra to do.

I can’t wait to see subsequent season.

We’re actually hoping to dive into our characters and their lives and their journeys and their ache in a manner that we’ve not accomplished earlier than — or have accomplished earlier than, however have accomplished it extra in a again burner secondary to the crime of the week. And I believe seeing how Parker — the ignition on Parker is the beginning of that. That’s no small hiccup in the person’s life.

NCIS, Season 23, TBA, CBS