‘NCIS’ Star Gary Cole Previews Parker’s Urge for Revenge After His Father’s Murder and Nancy Travis’ Appearance in Season 23 Premiere (Exclusive)

The 23^rd season of NCIS is finally premiering this week, and star Gary Cole spoke to PopCulture.com about what to expect following the Season 22 cliffhanger.

In “Prodigal Son (Part I),” airing on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, “Reeling from his father’s murder, Parker goes to extreme lengths to hunt down the woman he holds responsible, mob boss Carla Marino, jeopardizing not only his own future but the team’s.”

Wilmer Valderrama had previously teased that Season 22’s finale would include a “major death,” but fans were left shocked when Cole’s Alden Parker came home to find his father dead at the hands of Carla Marino. So Parker is going to be hungry for revenge come Season 23, and he won’t be alone. Last Man Standing’s Nancy Travis is appearing in the two-part premiere as his sister, Harriet, a Navy Vice Admiral. So there will be much to look forward to, and more. Check out what Cole had to say about NCIS Season 23. (Interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

PopCulture: What can you preview for the season premiere of NCIS and the aftermath of Parker’s dad getting killed?

Gary Cole: Well, like you said, the last season ended on a very dark note, and there’s no time elapsed basically at all. We pick up right where we left off. Actually, outside Parker’s apartment, but the aftermath of this murder. So the story is dealing with certainly shock and grieving on Parker’s part.

But more importantly, it’s about the hunt for the killer and the way they’re going about it. And Parker is not hesitant to break the rules, which puts his team in a very precarious place, because usually everything is by the book, and he’s trying to urge the opposite, and that’s the interaction that, to me, is most interesting about the script for the first two episodes.

PC: How was it digging into all those emotions? Because he’s feeling anger, revenge, and is really upset about what happened.

Cole: Sometimes on the show, characters are really pushed to a very, very extreme point emotionally, but not all the time. And so that’s why it’s interesting, because a lot of times they’re just kinda doing their job and they’re comfortable in their skin and the focus is on the case or the bad guys or whatever. In this case, he had to go through quite a lot, and still, the effects of it are in this show that we’ve done this season. And I like that because it shakes things up, tests characters, and there’s no way not to reveal more about them when they’re in such an emotionally vulnerable place.

PC: Nancy Travis is appearing as Parker’s sister. What will she bring to the table, both with her relationship with Parker and digging more into their family history?

Cole: We’ve heard about Parker’s sister before. Because she’s in the Navy, she kinda goes by the book just like the old man did. So there was always a bit of, probably, resentment about her from Parker. No fault of her own. I think that’s Parker’s weakness. But because of this tragedy, they are thrown together, and we see the kind of confrontation that they have with each other that’s been lingering for a long time, and it plays out to the end of these two episodes.

PC: What was it like working with Nancy?

Cole: Nancy’s fantastic. I’ve been a fan of Nancy’s for a long time. Nancy and I were in a movie together where we barely cross paths. I think the scene we had was I knocked on the door. She opened it. And she said,“Come in.” And then I walked in and talked to a bunch of other people. But had a little bit of time to chat. I’ve always been a fan of her. She’s done great work. She’s very personal. She was great in this part. I felt an immediate kind of bond and closeness with her. So we were believable, I think, as brother and sister that way, and I hope we see her back.

PC: Last season, Parker was haunted by this mysterious little girl named Lily, who we found out has a connection to his mother. What can you say about how that continues in Season 23?

Cole: Well, as a matter of fact, we are about to delve into a script that focuses solely on that. But from strict authority from the writers’ room, I couldn’t reveal a detail even if I wanted to because I’d be brought up on charges by the publisher. But we’re gonna deal with that. It’s all kind of meshed together. Lily, the mystery of his mother, how his mother died, and all of those things are going to be. There’ll be answers that are coming for all those questions.

PC: Is there anything else you can tease about the premiere episode or Season 23 in general?

Cole: I would just say that, without revealing anything, why would we do that? Again, it’s extreme. I mean, characters push to the extreme and dynamics that maybe you normally wouldn’t see on some of our other shows. But I think it stands up. I think, again, that to me, the success or failure of television has to do with writing. And when you got strong writers, which we do, you’re able to present something that hopefully people will respond to.

NCIS Season 23 premieres on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS as part of the network’s NCIS Tuesday lineup, which also includes new seasons of NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney. New episodes will stream on Paramount+ the day after they premiere.