NCIS season 18 will introduce a new character at some point in the future. It has been confirmed that Katy Keen actor Zane Holtz is going to play Dale Sawyer in the police procedural drama. However, it remains unknown at the moment which episode he'll be appearing in.

In a recent report from TVLine, it was announced that Holtz is joining the rest of the cast in NCIS season 18. Only a few details were known about Dale Sawyer, but he is also a Special Agent and he is someone that the team does not usually end up working with.

He likely came from another department or division and he could eventually team up with Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and others on a certain case. It would be interesting to see how his presence could impact the rest. But then, it seems like he'll only be part of the series short-term.

The aforementioned outlet noted that Holtz will only serve as a guest star in NCIS season 18 and not a replacement to Maria Bello's Jack Sloane. He may only appear in the series for just one episode and won't be filling the void left by the actress.

Co-showrunner Steve Binder made it clear that they're not rushing to replace Bello's character. He explained that they have a core team and the actress's function allowed them to find so much to give her to do. He further added that they don't need to necessarily fill it right away.

Ahead of the official release of the current installment, Bello already confirmed that she is leaving the series. Yet, there's a question on how she will be written out in the story, though co-showrunner Frank Cardea teased that they are trying to consider what does the character deserves.

Meanwhile, the next episode of NCIS season 18 is titled "True Believer" and it might the final episode of Bello's Sloane. Nothing is officially confirmed at the moment, but the story will mostly revolve around the character. She is going on a mission with Gibbs on her side.

Sloane found out that her name was on the abandoned bus with a dead driver in Afghanistan. This leads her and Gibbs to go on a mission and investigate the case. Later on, the two tried to rescue a group of girls who were kidnapped from the bus.

NCIS season 18 is airing every Tuesday night on CBS.