Why NCIS Season 21's Episode Format Change Has Wilmer Valderrama Excited

Contains general spoilers for "NCIS" Season 21

"NCIS" is set to return to television in short order, and there's a big change ahead for the venerable series. With only 10 episodes set to air during its abbreviated 21st season, the drama is set to try out some format changes, per series star Wilmer Valderrama. This time out, the show will try a long, overarching story that connects as a whole. Each successive episode must be watched, or something vital will be lost. On top of that, the actor promises shocking twists and turns. This big switch-up in formatting seeks to energize the long-lived series.

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly before the release of Season 21, Valderrama revealed that the season will be challenging for his character, Nick Torres. "Something breaks," he said. "Something breaks in Torres' heart. It's almost like he's been waiting for this moment for way too long." That's because the season is slated to bring Nick's traumatic past to the surface — and see him confess to murdering the man who cruelly tormented his family and others. It's the first of a series of plot moves that will take the audience deep into Nick's past.

Valderrama is, understandably, excited for the changes ahead. "I'm excited because this is the rare opportunity where a show that by the grace and the love of the fans has the runway to try things," he shared. "We're going to swing in directions that are a lot more personal and a lot more high-concept." Yet, simultaneously, the actor teased that the show won't take any twists that feel false or out of character for the show's beloved characters — even while injecting humor into the piece.

A fresh storytelling element may be inserted into "NCIS" this season; Wilmer Valderrama hinted via his Entertainment Weekly interview that comedic elements may be woven into the show's story. "I was like, you have Gary Cole, who's a comedic genius, and then you have me, which I have some ... comedy experience in my past too [Valderrama played Fez in "That 70's Show"]. I was like, why are we not doing this, dude? Why are these two characters not running wild in the field?" That means Nick Torres and Aiden Parker might get up to some funny antics during Season 21.

But there will also definitely be plenty of action and drama on tap — all stuff that has Valderrama excited to share what's ahead for Nick. He gave full credit to the humming chemistry between the show's actors. "I can't wait for people to see [this] season," he continued. "We're literally finishing each other's sentences, and the level of difficulty to pull off the stuff that we're doing, it's so high, and somehow this cast is making it amazing. And it's been a joy. It's been a joy to spend all that time with these incredible individuals." And now that Season 21 has officially started, audiences will get to share in all of that creative mayhem with them.