Adam Campbell will be making his NCIS: Origins debut sooner than we thought! Having played the younger version of Doctor Donald “Ducky” Mallard on NCIS, we will now get to see him come into the fold years after meeting Gibbs.
It had been previously reported he would be appearing on the prequel series in an episode titled “The Edge.” The name comes from David McCallum’s song from 1966 and serves as a tribute to the actor, whose character passed away in his sleep in season 21 of NCIS.
The NCIS: Origins episode will follow the team as they receive a visit from Mallard, who works as a liaison from the NIS division in Washington, D.C. His purpose for visiting is to see if Camp Pendleton needs an in-house Medical Examiner.
What brings Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard to NCIS: Origins?
However, the team is concerned there might be another reason he has arrived for a visit. Mike Franks and Wheeler think he might be looking for some sort of intel on how the office is running, although what that intel actually involves remains to be seen.
Plus, his appearance also leads the team to finding out his middle name. No one else calls Gibbs anything other than his last name or Probie, except Ducky, who calls him “Jethro.” This will surely lead to some funny moments as the team teases him about his name.
Despite Wheeler’s concerns about why he is there, everyone else seems to like him, with being called either a “genius” or someone who “sprinkles sunshine” while at the crime scenes.
This will also mark Campbell’s first time working with Austin Stowell’s version of the younger Gibbs. On the original NCIS, Campbell had worked with Sean Harmon when he portrayed Gibbs before his time at NCIS.
The promo for the episode also shows the team looking into the death of a woman who was found frozen, so this will be a case where we get to see Gibbs and Ducky working together, for what seems to be the first time.
Ducky and Gibbs’s friendship has always been one of the most important parts of the franchise, so we’re excited to get to see them after Gibbs has become a probie.
Campbell made four appearances as the younger Ducky, with his last appearance being for season 18 of the original. Hopefully we will see more of him in NCIS: Origins even though it looks like he was already working in D.C.
The episode will air on Tuesday, October 28 on CBS at 9/8c. You can find more episodes on Paramount+.