The upcoming season of NCIS will feature a melancholic holiday episode.

The season 11 Thanksgiving episode will focus on NCIS Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll), who is spending his first holiday without his late wife, Jackie.

"We'll be casting the father of Vance's wife," the show's Executive Producer Gary Glasberg told TV Guide in a Monday report. "We think it will really have some resonance."

His spouse was murdered in the Season 10 episode, Shabbat Shalom, after she was hit by a machine gun fire. Following the hit, NCIS Medical Examiner Dr. Donald Mallard performed surgery to see what killed Jackie. He explained that she was shot in the temporal lobe of her brain.

Cote de Pablo's Departure From NCIS

As EnStars previously reported, another new character, named Delilah, will also join the cast. In July, TV Line reported that she will play the love interest of Timothy McGee. The website defined her as a "perky, smart, eccentric and downright lovable computer wonk at the Department of Defense." There's no word, however, who will play the new addition to the show.

Actor Colin Hanks also revealed his return to NCIS season 11 in July.

"Back on the NCIS set and I've decided that when I die I want to come back as Mark Harmon's dog. #RealWondermutt," he tweeted.

The 35-year-old actor appeared on season 10's final two episodes playing Richard Parsons. He has a tumultuous relationship with Harmon, who plays Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Parsons, the Department of Defense Investigator, is on a quest to take him down.

Cote de Pablo, who announced her departure from the show in early July, will also return for the second episode of the upcoming season, her co-stars confirmed to E! News. The episode will focus on her character, Ziva's relationship with Special Agent Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo, played by Michael Weatherly.

Fans Angry About Cote de Pablo's Departure

Weatherly also encouraged viewers not to miss the forthcoming season.

"Even if you're a casual viewer of the NCIS, even if you've only seen one marathon on USA, this season premiere and the first couple episodes you're going to want to check out," he told E! News in a July report.

Tags: NCIS