'NCIS' hints at Ziva David's return in Super Bowl ad

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- NCIS hinted at the return of a beloved character in an ad during Super Bowl LIII.

The CBS series teased a revelation about Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) in the commercial spot Sunday for its Feb. 12 episode.

The ad shows Eleanor Bishop (Emily Wickersham) turning to Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) and exclaiming, "It's Ziva!" The scene cuts to an upset Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon) saying, "Don't tell me about Ziva!"

"You thought her story was over. Now, the biggest NCIS secret of all will be revealed," a narrator says in the clip.

TVLine said the episode, titled "She," will follow the NCIS crew as they reopen an old missing persons case. Bishop discovers David had kept notes on the case long after NCIS stopped investigating.

David left NCIS in Season 11 and was presumed dead in Season 13, although her body was never found. De Pablo said in April 2016 that she left NCIS because the scripts were no longer good enough for the character.

"Unfortunately, because of political things and the scripts not being good enough, I chose not to [continue]," the actress said.

"I love this character. I worked eight years in crafting this character and loving her, so when I felt or perceived the character was not being treated with the respect that she deserved, all the money in the world [couldn't make me stay]," she explained.