Season 2 of “NCIS: Origins” includes a special episode exclusively exclusive to David McCollum, who played Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard in the first 20 seasons of the flagship “NCIS” series before his death in 2023.
The tribute episode entitled “The Edge” will feature Adam Campbell’s altered role as Young Ducky, who played as a guest star in four episodes of “NCIS.” Following the official logline of the episode, “Ducky is sent to Camp Pendleton, who shadows the team while working on the case, and in the process reconnects with Gibbs after two crossed passes two years ago.”
The episode is titled after McCollum’s song of the same name that is featured in the episode. The song is instrumental and was released in 1996 via Capitol Records and Dr. It is well known as a sample in the intro to Dre and Snoop Dogg’s hit 2000 single “The Next Episode.”
“We wanted to do this episode to honor the memory of our dear friend David McCallum,” said “NCIS: Origins” showrunners Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North in a statement. “He has been a beloved member of the ‘NCIS’ family for many years and is extremely fortunate to regain the talented Adam Campbell to bring this young version of the iconic character back to life. We featured David’s music in the episode.
“NCIS: Origins” is narrated by the original “NCIS” star Mark Harmon, who took on the role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The series stars Austin Stowell as a young Gibbs in the early 90s. Season 2 follows Gibbs’ early career as a special agent, with the younger “origin” version played by former season muse Watson Kyle Schmidt, led by Mike Frank.
Monreal and North alongside Harmon and Sean Harmon are executive producers of NCIS: Origins, with CBS Studios producing the series. Season 2 will premiere on October 14th.
