“There will be perhaps some new flames,” Valderrama teases of romance potentially heating up season 22 of the hit show.
“The big conversation is how can we light some s— on fire this season? That’s what I want to do,” the actor, 44, exclusively tells PEOPLE during an interview about his lifestyle apparel brand E.P.U., which launched on Tuesday, July 9.
Valderrama has played Nick Torres, a special agent on the NCIS Major Case Response Team, for the past eight seasons on the procedural drama.
He says he feels “indebted” to fans because of their loyalty to the show, so he wants to give them the “turmoil” they’ve come to expect over two decades of the show.
“I think it’s not going to be your casual like, ‘Oh, your favorite team is in trouble,'” he adds. “It’s going to be more personal, more soul-shattering. There’ll be some [tragedy] this season.”
Although Valderrama is warning fans to prepare for drama, he’s also teasing that the “fire” he’s referring to might be thanks to some new romances for characters including his own.
“There will be perhaps some new flames,” he says. “Perhaps Torres might be ready for love this season. Who knows? That might be a conversation or may not be a conversation.”
Nick previously had a romance with his co-worker Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham) on the show, but the couple broke up in season 18.
The That ’70s Show alum also says he advocated for Nick to have more comedic moments, particularly with Gary Cole, who joined NCIS in season 19 as the team’s Supervisory Special Agent Aiden Parker.
“He also is going to have some really heavy lifting this season too,” Valderrama says of Cole, 67. “So that’ll be really fun to see him do that.”
NCIS is now streaming on Paramount+ and will return to CBS this fall for its 22nd season.