The Tuesday, October 20, episode of NCIS: Origins is a big one for reunions.
According to CBS in “Return of the Mack,” “In 1992, Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard (Adam Campbell) helps the team investigate when a young Marine is found murdered on a beach with suspicious markings all over his body. In the present, Gibbs (Mark Harmon) reunites with a familiar face from the past.” Since that description was released, it was revealed that the familiar face for Harmon’s Gibbs is Michael Weatherly‘s Tony DiNozzo, in a reunion 10 years in the making.
Campbell first appeared as young Ducky on NCIS in flashbacks (and then in the 500th episode). This will be his third episode of NCIS: Origins, with these appearances (like the first, pictured below) showing the early days of what becomes an iconic friendship between Gibbs and Ducky (played by the late David McCallum on the mothership). That will continue in “Return of the Mack” with Austin Stowell and Adam Campbell’s characters. See photos of them together again below.
“We have a really fun episode with him and Gibbs where you’re really starting to see how they work together as a team for the first time, and it’s a lot of fun really seeing how their relationship is evolving,” showrunner David J. North told TV Insider while discussing Season 3 for our in-depth digital cover. “I really think in an episode this season for the first time you’re seeing, wow, that’s how Mark Harmon’s Gibbs and David McCallum’s Ducky became who they were when we met them.”
What are you hoping to see from Adam Campbell’s return as Ducky and the reunions for Gibbs in the ’90s and 2026? Let us know in the comments section below.
NCIS: Origins, Tuesdays, 10/9c, CBS