In Navy CIS, the cases are the stars of each episode, but the lovable characters and their relationships kept many fans invested in the series. We asked you in a survey about the most popular couple in the series and you gave a clear answer – and not without reason.
How did you vote? In our ranking of the top 5 couples in Navy CIS, we looked at the search volume between August 2024 and July 2025 using the website Keyword Tool. You could also vote on which couple is your favorite.
In the survey, 3,686 readers participated (as of 16.09.2025, 15:00), and unsurprisingly, 58% of the votes chose Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo as the best couple. In line with the new series. In second place with 11% is surprisingly the couple Jimmy Palmer and Jessica Knight, which didn’t even appear in the top 5. You can see the other rankings from the survey here:
- Tony DiNozzo / Ziva David with approx. 58% (2128 votes)
- Jimmy Palmer / Jessica Knight with approx. 11% (400 votes)
- Timothy McGee / Delilah Fieldings-McGee with approx. 9% (335 votes)
- Nicholas Torres / Eleanor Bishop with approx. 5% (199 votes)
- Anthony DiNozzo / Jeanne Benoit with approx. 3% (99 votes)
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs / Jenny Shepard with approx. 2% (80 votes)
- Jimmy Palmer / Breena Palmer with approx. 2% (66 votes)
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs / Jacqueline Sloane with approx. 2% (60 votes)
- Eleanor Bishop / Jake Malloy with under 1% (16 votes)
- Ziva David / Ray Cruz with under 1% (14 votes)
Tony and Ziva clearly won quite dominantly. Their popularity has several reasons.
Not just a popular couple
What makes them so popular? Ziva made her first appearance in Season 3, Episode 1. She joined the team as an outsider, and right from her first appearance, Tony and Ziva teased each other. Like in a sitcom, they dated other people, but there was often a flirty
undertone.
This appeals to viewers because one constantly wonders: When will it finally happen?
However, because the series focuses on individual cases, it never feels annoying. As viewers, one organically develops a sense of the relationship between the two over time.
One gets invested for several seasons, but without it being shoved in one’s face. The few moments are smaller highlights for the fans and often also comedic moments. The seriousness of the cases is never undermined. Romance is not the focus, and that’s precisely why it works so well, especially with Tony and Ziva.
On the other hand, the characters stand well on their own. Tony has been around since Season 1 (he previously appeared in Season 8 of JAG) and is the less serious counterpart to Gibbs. At the same time, he is also a good agent who quickly became a fan favorite with his quips.
Ziva is like an outsider who quickly grows on the agents (and the viewers). She is one of the best agents in the series due to her training. Plus, she is tough and can counter Tony’s quips and hold her own. They had good chemistry right from the start. As colleagues, friends, and if one looks at the popularity of the new series, also as partners.
They are also popular characters who had enough time to develop. Even apart from each other, they have become fan favorites, and not without reason. If one likes both characters, one is likely to also like the relationship of the two.
Tony and Ziva had a special role within the series, also with other characters like McGee or Gibbs. This established and developed them as characters. The series’ light approach to romance fit perfectly. What do you think? Why are the two so popular? Feel free to let us know in the comments. If you are looking for alternatives to Navy CIS, you will find them here: 7 series like NCIS
