GAYLE KING:
00:00:00
Fans of the hit CBS show NCIS,they are gearing up for the highly-anticipated finale of season 23. What's going to happen? This will be Wilmer. How do you say his name?
NATE BURLESON:
00:00:09
Wilmer Valderrama.
MAJOR GARRETT:
00:00:12
It's two extra R's-- seven extra R's there, yes.
GAYLE KING:
00:00:15
It's his 200th episode, as Special Agent Nick Torres. I can say that. In next week's episode, the team is heading into a high-stakes trial against the killer of their beloved director, Leon Vance. Former Army CID Director Wayne Rogers will begin. Can you please turn that off? I am so sick of looking at his face. We should be looking at his face in person today. It's only the first day of Rogers' trial. It's expected to last a few weeks. So you'll definitely get your chance. But right now, these VWAP numbers are due tomorrow. Yeah, you would have thought they'd give us an extension. Actually, this is the extension. They were due a few weeks ago. Well, we've kind of been up to our eyeballs preparing the case against Rogers. Still not close to being enough. What are you talking about? We gave the DOJ a slam dunk. Yeah, there's no way the jury is not going to send Rogers to prison for the rest of his life. Well, that's the problem. After what he did to Vance, what he did to all of us, prison seems too good for him. Yeah, I get it.
GAYLE KING:
00:01:05
And we are very happy to say-- who's here, Nate? Wilmer Valderrama. There was nine there. There was nine-- nine R's there, nine. How do you like that, Wilmer? I think it's strong. It's aggressive. It's what I like. There we go. Just like, the show. Yes, just like, the show, violent, like NCIS. Yes, your 200th episode, 10 seasons for you. Wow, wow, wow. You sit back, and you reflect. And you think what about this? I feel like, it did. It went by real quick. It's like, what they tell you when you have children. You're like, oh, don't blink, right? And I blinked, and it was like, oh, my third season already. And all of a sudden, it's like, nine seasons. And next season will be my 10 year. This season finale will be my 200th episode.
GAYLE KING:
00:01:49
Yes. And it's been a joy. It's been great. I'm having a great time. And we're still swinging for the fences. Still swinging. And you're still standing. You are-- Yes, yes, I'm still almost tired. [LAUGHTER] You admit it, you're done. It's like, you got to keep going. Well, in episode 500, there was a shakeup, an unexpected death. Can we expect more in these closing episodes? Yeah, look, I think every couple of years, you all know. And this is, now, a couple of years into the a couple of years, where the show has to shake things up a little bit to kind of redirect and to find new rhythms for the fans. And this is that moment. And I think that saying goodbye to Rocky Carroll, which I did not want to do--
GAYLE KING:
00:02:29
That was tough, yeah. It was a very tough thing for me. Because I just love him so much. But I do understand the science of saying, OK, well, we have to create new rhythms and create new patterns. So the season finale, we can expect [INAUDIBLE]. Season finale, crazy stuff. Crazy stuff. I mean, there's a lot of danger. And we're setting a crazy tone for next season, too. And we're leading into a first episode that's just insane. We're, also, bringing elements in that first episode of next season that, I think, people are going to-- people are not going to assume that can be possible. But we're making it possible. Because it's, in the terminology, a procedural show, but it's character driven. And the characters pull the audience in, hold the audience. And when you switch the characters around, they've got something new to grab onto. And very quickly, NCISrealized that it was about the people solving the case. It wasn't about the case of the week. The case of the week kind of brought out things out of these characters that made us go, oh, man, that's a person like, me, is making choices like, I would. And I accept the running into the fire, you know? And I just feel so much joy to be able to have been playing Nick Torres for this long and having a lot of fun with it.
GAYLE KING:
00:03:31
You know what else brings you joy? I love the picture you posted the other day, with you and your favorite daughter. I remember when both your kids were born. You had a boy. And then--
WILMER VALDERRAMA:
00:03:38
Yeah, yeah. And you-- you teared up, because she was getting a haircut. I was--
GAYLE KING:
00:03:43
What happened to you? I was a mess, dude. Like, [INAUDIBLE].
MAJOR GARRETT:
00:03:46
Tough guy. [OVERLAPPING SPEECH]
GAYLE KING:
00:03:48
What happened? I thought, look-- I'm like, it'd be cool to do a video, where my daughter's getting her first haircut. And she's getting her first haircut. And I'm sitting there just bawling my eyes out. And I realized, oh, I think this is like, a parent landmark. Like, we got to a point, where she's getting her first haircut. And [INAUDIBLE]. They didn't shave her hair, Wilmer. She's still got lots of hair. How short do you want to go? I say, 1 inch. Everybody relax. Just clip the loose end. Come on. Everybody's freaking out, please! Very quickly, you and I have one thing in common. When we were young people in California, we were both busboys. You are, now, co-founding a bar in DC. So you're going to be the owner. What are you going to make sure happens to the busboys that didn't happen to you when you were a busboy? Thank you for answering that. Look, I think the busboys don't get enough love and a lot of credit. I was a busboy, who was doing that, that really hard job. And there's people that let out their frustrations on those who are doing those jobs. So I want to create a different space, where people really that are behind the counter are treated kindly, the way they're supposed to. The way they're supposed to. I'm still stunned that Major was a busboy. And a dishwasher-- and a dishwasher before that. What kind of restaurant?
MAJOR GARRETT:
00:04:55
Japanese restaurant. Oh, that makes sense.
GAYLE KING:
00:04:57
Thank you, Wilmer. Thank you, too, busboys.
NATE BURLESON:
00:05:00
Valderrama. You can watch the latest episode of NCISon Tuesdays at 8:00/7:00 Central.
