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Michael Weatherly has spoken up about Cote de Pablo's impending departure from "NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service". As much as he loves the "holding pattern" that the show has maintained particularly for Tony/Ziva romance, the actor says the show will give a closure to the story arc.

"I think that for DiNozzo and for me as an actor, that 'holding pattern' has been incredibly fun to play - I love working with Cote, she's awesome - but also it's been eight years, and we haven't dealt with it," Weatherly tells TVLine. "It will be dealt with."

While he admits that he "can't give away all the pinpoints," the Tony DiNozzo depicter claims the Tony storyline is "the most exciting thing I've heard in a long time." He adds that the first two episodes of the new season, which will wrap up Ziva's storyline, are "immensely satisfying. I was very surprised by the things I read in those scripts."

Reflecting on all the changes that the show has gone through with the departures of cast members Lauren Holly (NCIS Director Jenny Shepard) and Muse Watson (Mike Franks, Gibbs' longtime mentor) as well as series creator Don Bellisario, Weatherly says, "Those were major changes." He goes on crediting the show's "great writers and a remarkable core DNA that Bellisario created" which make the series "so sturdy that it withstands all of these changes."

"NCIS" season 11 premieres Tuesday, September 24 at 8 P.M. on CBS. Executive producer Gary Glasberg recently said Ziva's "whole story arc unfolds through the first episode, and then Cote/Ziva plays very prominently in the second one. There's a really significant Tony/Ziva payoff - everything I hope the Tiva fans have been waiting for."

He continued teasing, "It gives us some insight into this decision that she's going to make. It's exciting. And it's romantic."