‘NCIS’ Cast Reunites on the Picket Line Amid Hollywood Strikes

As the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes continue, the NCIS cast have reunited on the picket lines. Brian Dietzen, who has played assistant M.E.-turned-head M.E. Jimmy Palmer since the first season, took to Instagram to share photos from the picket lines with his friends at the long-running CBS procedural with a very lengthy message to stress how much the show and both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have meant to him over the 20 years.

After first mentioning that he booked a role in 2001 that moved him to Canada and got him into the Screen Actors Guild, Dietzen was “very proud to be part of this union” and still is after having dreamed of being a professional actor while going to school. He “felt so validated that I had a professional union at my back.” 

“Two years later, in 2003, I was cast as a one-day guest star on a project that would change my life,” Dietzen continued. “This little spin-off of the show JAG needed someone to play an assistant medical examiner opposite the legend David McCallum. I was lucky enough to be the guy to play Jimmy Palmer.  Over the course of the next several years, I recurred on the show, and thanks to my union’s productions, I was guaranteed a residual payment whenever a performance of mine aired. It enabled me to get medical coverage for myself and my wife and to pay our bills.”

Brian Dietzen went on to say that he’s “forever grateful to the group of people both past and present who I’ve created alongside,” noting that he’s “been so blessed on this journey.” He praised all of the hardworking people on the set of NCIS, from craft service to network heads, for “working very hard together to build this show.” With familiar such as Joe Spano, Sean Murray, Rocky Carroll, Gary Cole, and Katrina Law, along with plenty of crew, they got together to celebrate the series and “stand in solidarity” to support all WGA and SAG-AFTRA members.

While there’s no end in sight for either strike, Dietzen did promise that they will “be getting back to the stage to do what we do best” once an agreement is reached, as NCIS. For now, they are all “proud to stand by them as we wait for a fair deal.” Many actors have taken to the picket lines and/or social media to show their support for the strike, SAG-AFTRA, and their fellow actors and writers. It’s hard to tell how much longer it will last, but it seems that no one is backing down that easily. All 20 seasons of NCIS are streaming on Paramount+, though, which will surely keep fans occupied for a while until the team is back on the screen.