#Will Gary Cole’s Alden Park be a friend or foe?

We’re now a couple of days away from the official news that NCIS season 19 is welcoming Gary Cole to the cast. Yet, there still isn’t all that much known about the character. For now, the #1 fact out there is that he is playing FBI Special Agent Alden Park — he is not going to be replacing Mark Harmon’s Gibbs on the team, so you don’t have to worry about him parking himself in that desk and calling it a day.

With that in mind, other questions do creep into the forefront of your mind, starting with the following: How will he be involved in this show? What role would an FBI agent have long-term with a show about military investigations?

Someone assisting on a long-form case – It makes no real sense for an FBI agent to just stop by with some assorted NCIS cases where he has no jurisdiction. Instead, he may be a part of a joint case, one that has huge implications and could play out over the course of the season. Could that be tied to Gibbs and the serial killer that he was investigating? You can’t rule something like that out…

A consultant brought in by Vance – Maybe Park is someone Leon’s known for a long time who offers to help out as NCIS shifts things around. Remember, Gibbs won’t be back full-time and Bishop is seemingly gone for good; they need a little bit of help!

Someone in opposition to NCIS – Is this something that Park could even do? He may be someone who looks back at their cases, questions their methods, and even gets some of the agents in a little bit of trouble.

A friend in the field – Maybe Park serves as a go-between, someone who could offer McGee and company resources that they don’t often have access to. In that way, maybe he could be similar to how Marty Deeks was on NCIS: Los Angeles back when he was a part of the LAPD.

Related – Be sure to get some other updates on NCIS, including details on Katrina Law’s series-regular promotion

What do you want to see unfold for Gary Cole over the course of NCIS season 19?

Be sure to give us some of your thoughts and theories below! After you do that, remember to also come back to score some additional updates during the off-season — there is a lot more to come… (Photo: CBS.)

This article was written by Jess Carter. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.