CBS Retcons NCIS’s 18-Year History By Breaking 1 Trend
NCIS retcons its history with a major revelation that alters the course of Timothy McGee’s future. CBS’s long-running procedural has started leaning more into its history in the 2025-2026 TV cycle, with a string of familiar faces coming back for new missions. Firstly, Vera Strickland came back for the NCIS: Origins season 2 crossover, followed by Ellie Bishop’s re-emergence from her undercover operation to clear her name.
NCIS Introduces McGee’s Twist Son From Season 5
Ahead of NCIS‘s milestone 500th episode, the procedural drops a major bomb that shakes McGee to his core — he has a secret son from a previous relationship. What starts as a seemingly straightforward murder case at Rock Creek Park ends up becoming more complicated after MCRT’s most veteran member learns that the case involves his girlfriend from 18 years ago, Olivia Garcia. This was around NCIS season 5, back when the primary romantic pairing of the show was Tony Dinozzo Jr. and Ziva David, so there has been no mention of this relationship until now.
Through the case, McGee encounters his ex’s son, Matteo. Based on his age, Sean Murray immediately had a hunch that he might be his, so he immediately ordered a paternity test to figure out that truth. By the time MCRT saves Olivia, McGee receives the results, confirming that Matteo is indeed his son. When confronted about his, his ex-girlfriend explains that she didn’t know that she was pregnant when they split up, and even after, she decided to hide it from him because it would have forced them to be together even though they weren’t each other’s soulmates.
Understandably, McGee is frustrated about missing almost two decades of his son’s life. Because this happened before he even met his wife, Delilah has been supportive throughout this whole ordeal. Luckily, both Olivia and Matteo are receptive to his desire to be more present in his life moving forward.
What McGee’s Son Twist Means For His Future & NCIS’s Story
This isn’t the first time in NCIS‘s history that an agent ends up having a secret child that they didn’t know. Early in its run, Leroy Jethro Gibbs had a similar story, although the kid didn’t end up being his. However, Ziva David’s decision to hide Tali from Tony DiNozzo set a precedent. It’s curious how prominent Matteo will be in the show moving forward, especially considering how the show barely features his and Delilah’s twins, Morgan and Johnny — an almost established rule now in the series. In fact, Matteo’s arrival clears the path for NCIS to fully dismantle that tradition, assuming that he will be a recurring character in the procedural, at the very least.
Since he is supposedly still in school, NCIS has an excuse not to have him be a recurring character in the procedural. That being said, considering how big of a deal this is for McGee and his overall story, the CBS project needs to have a follow-up arc about this reunion. Otherwise, this whole plot would feel like nothing more than the show’s attempt to deliver a plot twist without any significant ramifications for its future. At the very least, NCIS should offer regular updates about how their reconnection is going, even though they only show their time together on-screen occasionally.