When NCIS: Origins Season 3 returns this fall, viewers will be reunited with one of the franchise’s most popular characters. The return continues the prequel’s commitment to tracing the early days of its core relationships while maintaining its own distinct 1990s setting.
Adam Campbell’s Young Ducky confirmed to return in NCIS: Origins Season 3
Adam Campbell will reprise his role as a young Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard in NCIS: Origins Season 3. Showrunner David J. North confirmed the casting news to TVLine after Mariel Molino, who plays Lala Dominguez, posted an Instagram Reel showing Campbell on set.
North was enthusiastic about bringing the medical examiner back, noting that Ducky’s presence in NCIS: Origins Season 3 further explores how he and Austin Stowell’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs became close friends.
The showrunner hinted that Ducky’s return will be tied to an unusual case, saying, “Let’s just say he comes into a case this year in a way that he hasn’t in his previous two episodes … he sort of just ends up popping up.”
The late David McCallum originated the role in 2003, playing Ducky as one of NCIS’s first five original characters until he died in 2023. Campbell first played the younger version in flashbacks on the flagship series before joining NCIS: Origins for two episodes in Season 2.
His debut episode, “The Edge,” saw Ducky traveling to Camp Pendleton to determine whether the office needed an in-house medical examiner. He returned later in the season to assist Dr. Tango, the San Diego County medical examiner.
Campbell also recently played Ducky in NCIS Season 23’s “All Good Things,” appearing as a spirit helping Rocky Carroll’s Leon Vance in the afterlife. The actor disguised himself as an unnamed investigator before revealing his true identity. Mark Harmon will also return as the older Gibbs in every episode of Season 3.
NCIS: Origins Season 3 premieres on October 6 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on ComingSoon.
