Michael McKee, the Illinois surgeon charged with murdering his ex-wife and her husband inside their Ohio home, agreed to be shipped back to Ohio to face murder charges … but he says he’s innocent.

McKee appeared in court Monday after his Saturday arrest in Illinois and waived extradition back to Ohio, where he is accused of gunning down Spencer and Monique Tepe in the early hours of Dec. 30 with the couple’s two young children in the home.

Check out this footage from inside an Illinois court room … McKee is shackled and wearing a mustard prison jumpsuit. The only time he speaks is when he states his full name.

As we reported … cops say they traced a car seen near the home around the time of the murders back to McKee in Illinois, where he worked as a vascular surgeon.

He was married to Monique for a couple years before they divorced in 2017 … she married Spencer in 2020 and they had two kids, who were unharmed in the shooting in suburban Columbus, Ohio.

2026 is already popping off, and we’re calling it now — “TMZ After Dark” is the hottest party in town, doubling the chaos this past weekend and going absolutely wild!

“Love Island” S7 stars Charlie Georgio and Austin Shepard ran Friday night, while “Love & Hip Hop”’s Nikki Mudarris held it down Saturday … and both nights brought nonstop energy from start to finish.

The Love Islanders brought villa-level chaos Friday night … kicking things off at The Burgundy Room before rolling into Saddle Ranch for surprise quesadillas and watermelon shots!

Saturday went even harder — Nikki and Neo Da Matrix hit Power House, kept it moving at Beaches WeHo, then shut it all the way down at Saddle Ranch … where Nikki hopped on the bull and turned the night into an instant classic.

Leonardo DiCaprio might’ve been muttering insults under his breath at Nikki Glaser‘s Golden Globes roast — but Sarah Silverman tells us there’s no debate … she straight-up killed it as host!

We caught up with the comedy legend at LAX Monday, and she couldn’t stop raving about Nikki’s hosting gig the night before … showering her with praise and saying she seriously raised the bar.

You’ve gotta catch the clip … we also ask Sarah whether Nikki crossed the line going after certain people, and get her take on whether she thinks she’ll be back to host again next year.