Brian Dietzen and Pauley Perrette shared a reunion photo on June 7, sparking fresh attention on their long run on NCIS and Perrette’s deeper history with the franchise through JAG. Dietzen also recalled in past interviews how, years after Perrette’s exit near
On Sunday. June 7. Brian Dietzen posted a photo that felt like a throwback in real time: him with Pauley Perrette. plus friends he named in the caption. at The Hotel Cafe. The caption did more than mark a get-together—it stitched together two decades of entertainment history. starting with their shared NCIS past.
Dietzen wrote that he “got to see” @ellavos, @tinangelband and @cloverlin07 at @thehotelcafe and “hang with @thepauleyp.” In the same message, he pointed to the rhythm of the week—“That’s two shows we saw together in a week!”—and added, “Music is the best. So are good friends.”
For viewers, their NCIS relationship never really stopped being the center of the story. Dietzen starred for 15 seasons alongside Perrette, with Perrette playing forensic scientist Abby Sciuto and Dietzen playing Dr. Jimmy Palmer. Their characters frequently shared scenes. grounding the series in a specific kind of onscreen chemistry that audiences watched build season after season.
Their paths on the franchise are also unusually intertwined. Perrette was with the series from before it started—being part of the backdoor pilot episodes on JAG—while Dietzen joined NCIS in Season 1 as a guest star before later being upped to series regular. Perrette eventually left near the end of Season 15.
But the reunion photo lands at a moment when NCIS keeps moving forward—and fans can feel the connection still pulling tight. Dietzen didn’t just share the memory; he also made clear how his own involvement in the show evolved after Perrette’s exit. He didn’t get to write for Abby early on while they were co-stars. His writing work began with the character later, with him first penning episodes in Season 19.
When TV Insider spoke with Dietzen in 2023. he described the Abby possibility with the specificity of someone who has watched the characters breathe on screen for years. Asked about the second episode he wrote. he named the characters he loved—“Obviously Gibbs [Mark Harmon]. obviously Tony [Michael Weatherly]. Ziva [Cote de Pablo]. and Abby.” Then he explained that if any of them came back. he’d be “ecstatic to write for any of them.”.
He singled out what writing could unlock about Abby and the show’s emotional machinery. “Writing for Tony and being able to have those jokes and then having the know-it-all attitude but with the heart of gold underneath would be fantastic. ” he said. He added that having “Abby’s energy in there but also her heart that is as big as the sky” would be “wonderful.” He also tied the writing dream to Gibbs. describing how seeing Gibbs crack “just a hair” can flip the emotional switch—“and it’s amazing entertainment.”.
Dietzen also talked about how NCIS kept referencing characters who had left, and he pointed to what happened in Season 23 with Abby. In that stretch, McGee (Sean Murray) mentioned a lip-reading program that he created as a birthday gift for Abby a couple years earlier.
The connection between Dietzen’s on-screen years and his later writing work is the thread running under the reunion image. Their shared NCIS timeline—Perrette’s JAG-to-NCIS origin. Dietzen’s Season 1 entry. and her departure near the end of Season 15—sits on one side of the photo. On the other side is Dietzen’s return to the characters through writing in Season 19. and Abby’s continued presence referenced again in Season 23.
For now. the June 7 post is simply what it looks like: Dietzen and Perrette. together again in the real world. reminding fans that the bonds formed on set don’t end when the credits roll. “Music is the best. So are good friends. ” he wrote—short. warm. and exactly the kind of message that doesn’t need any extra framing to land.
NCIS reunion Brian Dietzen Pauley Perrette Abby Sciuto Jimmy Palmer The Hotel Cafe June 7 JAG backdoor pilot Season 15 exit Season 19 writing
Kinda wild they still hang out after all that NCIS drama.
Wait so JAG is basically like NCIS’s origin story right? I feel like I missed episodes or something lol. That pic is giving throwback for sure.
I don’t get why everyone’s acting like this is some huge comeback. It’s just a photo, and they probably just needed promo for the next season or whatever. Also I thought Perrette left because of the network, not because of the show timeline.
Backdoor pilot on JAG??? So she was in NCIS before it was even a thing? That’s honestly kinda crazy. I swear I remember reading something about Abby and Jimmy not really being together like that, but now everyone’s bringing up “chemistry” again so I’m like… were they secretly close off camera too? Either way, I’m glad they’re friendly, but I still wish the show would stop moving on without her.