Origins’ Tribute Episode to David McCallum

The NCIS and NCIS: Origins universes will collide once again during season 2 with a tribute to the one and only Ducky.

Adam Campbell, who played Young Ducky on the flagship series, is set to reprise his role on an upcoming episode of NCIS: Origins, CBS announced on Thursday, August 28.

The fall episode will double as a tribute to the late David McCallum, who portrayed fan-favorite Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard on NCIS for 20 seasons. (Campbell, meanwhile, played the younger version of Ducky on four episodes of the original series from 2014 to 2020.)

“We wanted to do this episode to honor the memory of our dear friend David McCallum. He was a beloved member of the NCIS family for so many years,” NCIS: Origins showrunners and executive producers Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North said in a joint statement.

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Monreal and North added, “We’re incredibly lucky to have the talented Adam Campbell back to bring the younger version of this iconic character to life once again. We even got to feature David’s music in the episode. We’re all very excited and can’t wait for the fans to see it!”

During the upcoming episode, titled “The Edge,” Campbell’s Ducky is “sent to Camp Pendleton to shadow the team while they work a case,” according to the official logline. Once there, Ducky “reconnects with Gibbs [Austin Stowell] after the two crossed paths years earlier.”

NCIS fans met the OG Ducky — a chief medical examiner — during the series premiere in 2003. McCallum continued to play the famed doctor for 20 seasons before taking a step back from the show in 2022.

David McCallum Sonja Flemming/CBS

Throughout that time, viewers had an inside track to Ducky’s strong connection with Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), which was unlike any other relationship in the agent’s life.

Less than a year after he exited the series, McCallum died in September 2023 of natural causes at the age of 90.

The NCIS family was quick to honor David, who is survived by his wife, Katherine McCallum, and their children, sons Paul and Peter and daughter Sophie, as well as many grandchildren.

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“We are deeply saddened by the passing of David McCallum and privileged that CBS was his home for so many years,” CBS and NCIS studio CBS Studios said in a joint statement in 2023. “David was a gifted actor and author, and beloved by many around the world. He led an incredible life, and his legacy will forever live on through his family and the countless hours on film and television that will never go away.”

The studios continued: “We will miss his warmth and endearing sense of humor that lit up any room or soundstage he stepped onto, as well as the brilliant stories he often shared from a life well-lived. Our hearts go out to his wife Katherine and his entire family, and all those who knew and loved David.”

NCIS proceeded to commemorate David by showing a mini-marathon on CBS that month and adding an “In memoriam” card.

The series put together a bigger tribute the following year during a February 2024 episode of NCIS in which the character passed away and the team mourned the loss on camera.

Michael Weatherly, who played Special Agent Anthony “Tony” DiNozzo for 13 seasons before his 2016 exit, made a guest appearance on the episode as a special nod to the OG characters who loved Ducky most.

“Are we here to celebrate a great man, or what?” DiNozzo said on the season 21 episode as he joined current medical examiner Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) in the coroner’s office before the funeral. “I figured Duckman would want a little DiNozzo magic at his party.”

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DiNozzo then helped Jimmy fix his bowtie, worn in honor of Ducky’s favorite fashion staple. DiNozzo did his best British accent and told Jimmy that as Ducky always said, it’s not just the “stories we leave behind” that will be remembered, it’s the people’s “lives we touched.”

NCIS: Origins, meanwhile, follows a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Stowell) at the start of his career in NIS in the ‘90s, well before he became the leader at NCIS’ Washington, D.C., headquarters.

During season 1, viewers got to know a young Gibbs as well as his mentor, a young Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid). During the season finale, Gibbs’ future second wife, Diane Sterling (Kathleen Kenny), made a brief cameo, hinting that their story line would unfold next. The appearance of a young Ducky will also give insight into Gibbs’ beginnings.

Season 2 of NCIS: Origins premieres on CBS Tuesday, October 14, at 9 p.m. ET.