NCIS Stars Pauley Perrette and Brian Dietzen on Working With a Parrot and the New Cast Members

NCIS is going to the birds this week when Abby Scuito (Pauley Perrette) takes custody of a parrot, which she is keeping in her lab — at least temporarily — as the NCIS team takes on a new murder case.

“I’m working with a real live parrot, which is so exciting,” Perrette told Parade.com. “The writers know I love animals so they try to write in animals in Abby scenes. This time, I have a parrot, so I am doing all my scenes with a parrot.”

The case in question involves the death of a Marine sergeant who takes a tumble from a building, and shrink Grace Confalone (Laura San Giacomo), who was treating her as well as Gibbs  (Mark Harmon), suggests to him that he treat the case as a homicide. It is her way of letting him know, without breaking confidentiality, that she doesn’t feel her patient was suicidal.

When NCIS airs tonight, it will be the third episode without Michael Weatherly and Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and the cast is still feeling his loss.

“We love Michael,” Perrette says. “It was so sad to see him go, but he’s got a  new show that comes on right after ours. So, it’s like DiNozzo undercover. It’s awesome. We’ve had a lot of changes in our cast over the years, but we’ve survived. We have Jennifer Esposito, Wilmer Valderrama, and Duane Henry, and they are all wonderful. There is new, crazy energy and the fans, just like us, are, ‘What’s going to happen?,’ but we’re having fun.”

Brian Dietzen, who plays Jimmy Palmer, adds that neither Esposito, who is playing Special Agent Alex Quinn, nor Valderrama, who is playing Special Agent Nick Torres, are direct replacements for DiNozzo.

“It is a very different energy and we are so happy for Michael,” Dietzen says. “He has his own show on after ours, and then NCIS: New Orleans. I think Tuesday is going to be good. As far as the new guys coming in, it’s great because it’s almost like doing a pilot with your family that you’ve known for 13 years. We are so excited about doing it, but in a lot of ways, it is a very different show. It is fun to find the nuances in the new characters.”

Here is more scoop on Season 14 from Perrette, Dietzen and Esposito:

Is it true that Robert Wagner will be reprising his role as Anthony DiNozzo Sr.?

Brian Dietzen: Yes. It is going to be really interesting to see how RJ is going to interact with the whole team without his boy. He is so great. His coming in is like another extension of a big family.

Pauley Perrette: We love him so much.

What’s happening down in autopsy?

Brian Dietzen: This year NCIS has decided to digitize all its old files. We found out in the season premiere that Jimmy Palmer has gained an encyclopedic knowledge of all the cases they have ever done. Throughout the season, that is going to come back to help the team. It is going to surprise Gibbs how much Jimmy has retained as he is inputting this information. It is going to be part of the maturation of the character and a way to find new things to do with this guy.

Talk a little bit about Palmer’s relationship with Ducky [David McCallum]?

Brian Dietzen: It’s always been that student-mentor relationship of: How can I help you doctor? What do you have to teach me? Over the years, it has become more of a partnership even to the point where there are certain times that Ducky may ask Jimmy for help on something that is technologically based that he may not be as astute with. But at the end of the day, Jimmy always looks up to him as the father figure, the guy who has helped him along since day one. Not to mention, in front of the camera and behind, David and I have always had a great relationship.

I heard there is also going to be an episode with young Ducky again this season.

Brian Dietzen: I have heard that, too. We are playing the hits this year, so far. It’s pretty cool. The only bummer is, of course, because of the time thing, none of us get to work with the guy. He is only in flashbacks. You know David is going to have a good time with that. We are also going to have another appearance by the Sherlock Society. We are going to have a lot of stuff revisiting. It is going to be a lot of fun.

Is there any concern about how the ratings will do without Michael?

Brian Dietzen: There is definitely not for us on set. As actors, you go, “Our job is to show up and do the best job that we can do here. That is not really our territory.” Who knows? There is also the chance that the whole night will do really well.

Tell me about Alex?

Jennifer Esposito: I can’t give too much away, but something happened in the field that made her shy away from field work, so she went and she taught at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). We are going to start to learn more about her as the season goes on. She’s strong; she’s been through a lot.

The “Privileged Information” episode of NCIS airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.