NCIS welcomes a new cast member in Monday night's episode as actress Erinn Hayes makes her debut as Wendy Miller, a potential new love interest for Brian Dietzen's Dr Jimmy Palmer.
While speaking about his character's relationship with Wendy, who is a neighbor of Jimmy's, Brian revealed his longstanding friendship with the actress and opened up about reuniting with her on-screen.
"I can't say enough good things about Erinn Hayes," the actor told TV Insider. "I've known Erinn since I was about 18 years old. We went to college together and we first played opposite one another when in a production of Antigone, I was Haemon and she was Antigone. So we go way back to Greek tragedies and she's absolutely terrific."
Praising his new co-star, the 47-year-old revealed he knew Erinn was perfect for the role. "She's a hilarious comedian, and she's also a wonderful dramatic actress," he said. "So I was really happy when I saw there's this character coming up. I said, you've got to get Erinn to come on. And she's obviously been on a number of CBS shows, so they were happy to have her."
© Robert Voets/CBSSpeaking about his character's love life, Brian said we're seeing Jimmy "still trying" to find happiness following his wife's death and his breakup with Jessica Knight.
"He's still trying to find something. He is not an old guy. He's still a middle-aged guy with a teenage daughter. He doesn't want to hang it up yet," said Brian, before teasing Wendy's involvement in Monday's case. "So he's making his efforts, however difficult it may be in the midst of her potentially, I don't know, maybe being a murderer," he said, adding: "We're not sure. I don't know. But I like to see that they're giving Jimmy his shots at it."
© Robert Voets/CBSSo, what can fans expect from Monday's episode?
Titled 'Close to Home', the upcoming instalment sees the team get to work after Jimmy's daughter Victoria uncovers a big sum of money near the naval library.
The synopsis reads: "When Torres receives a text from Jimmy's daughter who has discovered a large sum of money near the naval library, the team works together to investigate."
© CBSJimmy is at the centre of the story as he goes undercover to investigate. Executive producer Steven D. Binder teased: "Jimmy's going to have to go undercover. There's going to be some other women Jimmy's going to meet. So now you've got Knight there.
"We'll see how mature she is when Jimmy's undercover, the bell of the ball, and Knight has to watch through a camera," he told TV Insider.
NCIS season 22 airs on Mondays on CBS at 9/8c.
