Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Season 24 premiere of NCIS, streaming now with a Paramount+ subscription.Tuesday’s premiere of NCIS’ 24th season on the 2026 TV schedule marked the return of Michael Weatherly’s Tony DiNozzo. Less than a year after the cancellation of NCIS: Tony & Ziva, fans were pleasantly surprised to find out that Tony would be coming back to D.C. to expand his security company. However, as of the end of the premiere, we learned that’s not all that he’ll be up to, and now the showrunner’s comments have me really worried about his new job.Ever since NCIS killed off Rocky Carroll’s Director Leon Vance in the 500th episode last season, many have been wondering who will replace him as NCIS Director, though after just being appointed, Gabriel LaRoche had been doing the job (poorly). It was hard to tell who could step up to the plate and be a long-term solution for the team, but after helping with a case involving McGee’s long-lost son Mateo and the SECNAV’s kidnapped daughter, Tony was made Director. As excited as I am about this new development, showrunner Steven D. Binder just mentioned one problem with being the director to EW that now has me stressed out. Thanks Steve. Tony’s stepping into the job because there was a death, and Vance stepped into the job because there was a death. It’s not a good job. You don’t last long. Well, Vance lasted a long time, but the retirement plan for being director of NCIS is getting shot and killed. That’s pretty much happened to all of them.Fans will remember Season 5 of NCIS saw the death of Director Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly), which eventually led to Vance stepping in. Even though Vance lasted 18 seasons, he was still shot multiple times throughout his run and lost his wife because of his job, before ultimately also getting killed off. Of course, Tony is no stranger to getting shot, either. That’s how we meet up with him again in the Season 24 premiere, but yeah, now that I'm thinking about, taking the job is dangerous indeed. Still, over time Tony has gotten himself into quite a lot of near-death experiences, and it would be harsh for the show to bring him back and make him director just to kill him off. Maybe I'm foolish, but I'm not that worried about this season, though now I'm worried death or attempts at death may come down the line. NCIS can definitely be unpredictable, and I will always be worried about everyone on the show, but I’m going to try and stay optimistic that Tony will stick around as Director for a while. When Weatherly went back to set of NCIS, many fans couldn’t stop theorizing that Tony would become the new Director. I’m glad these theories ended up being right, even if this means Tony's a higher target moving forward. NCIS is definitely in good hands, so let's bring on the near-death experiences. There is going to be a lot to look forward to in this new season of NCIS, and I could not be happier that the show is back. New episodes air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, streaming the next day on Paramount+.