'NCIS' star teases major character turn for Gary Cole's Alden Parker in season 23
Gary Cole's Alden Parker is gunning for revenge. 'NCIS' Season 23 will firmly shine the spotlight on Parker as he looks for payback against Carla Marino (Rebecca De Mornay) to avenge the death of his father. The new two-part season premiere will see Parker look past his badge in his quest to take Marino down.
Speaking to Parade, Wilmer Valderamma, who plays Nick Torres on the hit cop procedural, teased a major character turn for Cole's Palmer. "We all talked to each other, we all talked to the writers, we’re all wishfully thinking, ‘This is going to happen, right? Because it has to happen this way, because there’s no other way, you know?’ he said.
"We really collaborated on what is the best possible outcome. Not for the team and not for NCIS, but what is the possible outcome for our friend? And that is going to cost people, it’s also going to call for all of us to put the badge aside and go rogue, but we’re out for revenge and we’ll see if we get it."
What this essentially means is that the team, Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), Jessica Knight (Katrina Law), Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen), and Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover), are all in agreement to help their boss exact revenge. It also marks a season where they learn more about their boss, and his relationship with estranged sister Harriet Parker(Nancy Travis), a Navy Vice Admiral. Season 22 ended with two major storylines — the team was devastated by the death of Parker's father, and also the romantic fallout between Jessica and Palmer.
"He’s such an exciting character, such a great addition to 'NCIS' mothership, he’s everything that this show embodies, and he’s done a beautiful job as an actor to continue to elevate the leadership on the show,” Valderrama added. "He’s just an amazing person, so I’m very happy that we’ve dedicated two major episodes to really deepen our relationship as audiences with Parker, but also really deepen his roots within the NCIS legacy. And we do it in a really exciting, really fun way, and we get in a lot of crazy trouble."
Titled 'Prodigal Son', the logline reads: "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."
'NCIS' moves back to its original Tuesday 8 p.m. ET/PT slot when it returns for Season 23 on CBS. The show will stream the following day on Paramount+.