McCallum portrayed Donald &34;Ducky&34; Mallard on flagship &34;NCIS&34; series for 20 seasons. Adam Campbell to return as Young Ducky on NCIS: Origins in tribu

McCallum portrayed Donald "Ducky" Mallard on flagship "NCIS" series for 20 seasons.

Adam Campbell to return as Young Ducky on NCIS: Origins in tribute to late David McCallum

McCallum portrayed Donald "Ducky" Mallard on flagship "NCIS" series for 20 seasons.

By Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at ** with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, *Ms. Magazine*, *The Hollywood Reporter*, and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, *It Happened One Fight*, is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen.

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August 28, 2025 1:45 p.m. ET

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- Adam Campbell will return to the role of Young Ducky, making his debut on *NCIS: Origins *this fall.

- The season 2 episode of the prequel series is intended as a tribute to original Ducky actor, the late David McCallum.

- The episode will bring Ducky to Camp Pendleton and give him the opportunity to reconnect with Gibbs.

Things are about to get fowl on *NCIS: Origins.*

On Thursday, CBS announced that Adam Campbell, who previously portrayed a younger version of Donald "Ducky" Mallard on the flagship *NCIS *series, will make his debut as Young Ducky on prequel series *NCIS: Origins *this fall.

Campbell will appear in a special tribute episode to actor David McCallum, who originated the role of Ducky and played the character for 20 seasons of *NCIS. *McCallum died in Sept. 2023, and the flagship series dedicated an episode to his farewell in Feb. 2024.

The *Origins *episode will also feature McCallum's iconic rock song, "The Edge."

Adam Campbell as Young Ducky in 'NCIS'.

Cliff Lipson/CBS

"We wanted to do this episode to honor the memory of our dear friend David McCallum," said co-showrunners Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North in a statement. "He was a beloved member of the *NCIS* family for so many years and 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!"

The episode will follow the younger version of Ducky as he is sent to Camp Pendleton to shadow Franks (Kyle Schmidt) and the team while they work a case. Ducky will also reconnect with Gibbs (Austin Stowell) as we learn how they crossed paths years earlier.

'NCIS: Origins' creators break down that almost kiss and other finale questions

'NCIS: Origins' stars and creators address that shocking season finale cliffhanger

*NCIS: Origins *debuted in fall 2024 following the beginnings of Gibbs' days with NCIS, then known as NIS. Under the tutelage of Mike Franks and with the support of fellow agents, Lala (Mariel Molino) and Bernard "Randy" Randolf (Caleb Foote), Gibbs learns the ins and outs of investigative work while still recovering from the trauma of his wife and child's murder.

The season 1 finale reached an explosive conclusion when Gibbs faced scrutiny for his own vengeance killing of cartel leader Pedro Hernandez (George Paez). After Lala intervened, she raced to tell Gibbs the news (and that she loved him), only to veer off course and spiral into a fiery car crash that left her fate hanging in the balance.

David McCallum as Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard on 'NCIS'.

Sonja Flemming/CBS

"This will have gigantic ramifications on him," Stowell previously told * *of the cliffhanger ending. "No matter what happens, he just cannot seem to stop hurting people. I don't know whether it'll make him double down on his feelings for her or make him so scared that he wants to completely retract.

***Sign up for **'s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.*****

"Is she dead? Is she in a coma? Is she paralyzed?" he continued. "I don't know any of these things. I know this much: He's going to find out that she was in a car accident after it seems like she was on the way to his house, so the guilt will only build."

*NCIS: Origins* season 2 premieres on Oct. 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, on CBS.**

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