David McCallum died in September 2023 at the age of 90. Since then, it has been announced that the Ducky actor from NCIS will have a separate episode dedicated to him in the current 21st season. It has now been broadcast in the USA with the title “The Stories We Leave Behind”. In addition to dealing with Ducky’s death within the series plot, it also occurred surprising return of a long-time NCIS star.
Ducky special episode of NCIS brought back Michael Weatherly as Anthony DiNozzo
USA Today and TVLine detailed what happened in the latest episode of NCIS. Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) comes to his mentor’s house with coffee, where he has it Ducky died in his sleep finds. While the scene was shot with a replacement actor for David McCallum, Dietzen remembers the emotional shoot:
There are takes of this scene where I was just an emotional wreck.
After the team arranged Ducky’s funeral, NCIS made a surprise return. Michael Weatherly, who played his signature role as Anthony DiNozzo for 13 seasons and left in 2016, appears again in the special episode.
At the end of the episode, after Jimmy wants to turn off the lights in the autopsy before Ducky’s funeral, Weatherly comes in in his role. He gives Jimmy a black tie, remembers a Ducky-style anecdote and speaks touching final words a farewell for the fan favorite. Jimmy then turns off the lights and the NCIS episode ends with a plaque for McCallum.
When will NCIS season 21 come on Sat.1?
The new episodes have been broadcast in the USA since February 12th. There are usually three to four months between the US premiere and German broadcast. Therefore, Navy CIS season 21 will be on Sat.1 expected in summer 2024 start.
Podcast: Was NCIS destroyed by a dog bite?
7 years ago, a scandal rocked the crime series NCIS: The main actor’s dog bit a crew member. A years-long mud fight began.
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The incident started a chain of events that ended with one of the show’s most important stars leaving the series. In the podcast we explain what exactly happened between the bite and the exit.