CBS has already granted another two-year deal for NCIS and fans will be excited to see what happens in Season 12 and how the characters will develop on the show. The network has started off by already reporting that it has renewed contracts for series regulars Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, David McCallum, Sean Murray, Rocky Carroll, and Brian Dietzen, and that in itself will satisfy many fans of the show.

The Season 11 finale that was titled Honor Thy Father was very emotional as Gibbs and the rest of NCIS crew paid tribute to the late Ralph Waite.

Season 12 will be the start of something new, according to recent reports, although exactly what's in store remains to be seen. Will Gibbs finally able to meet his long lost mother?

Season 12 sees Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, David McCallum, Sean Murray, Rocky Carroll, and Brian Dietzen returning to the show.  In Season 11 Episode 24, Gibbs returned to his childhood home to pay tribute to his deceased father, Jackson. It was emotional and very unlike NCIS, but at the same time it was appropriate to the moment.

Gibbs had flashbacks and ended up constructing what seemed like a boat in the basement of his former house.

Rumor has it that Gibbs' estranged second wife will be cast in Season 12, though news is not yet confirmed. NCIS executive producer Gary Glasberg told TV Line, "I can promise you that [the mystery wife] is probably going to get touched on in Season 12. I have a little tiny space on my Dry Erase board for stories for next season, and that's already up there."

Given the possibility of the missing Mrs. Gibbs appearance on the show's twelfth season, fans are eyeing if the role will be played either by Pam Dawber or Miranda Pennebaker.

"That'd be fun. Every year someone says, 'Maybe Pam will [be on the show],' and every year it doesn't happen. I have a feeling that's a tall order, but it's worth a phone call," Glasberg said on an interview at CBS' Television Critics Association press conference.