NCIS star Brian Dietzen has explained season 21’s upcoming Ducky tribute episode, including one element involving his character, Jimmy Palmer, that will be important. David McCallum appeared as the team’s Historian and former Chief Medical Examiner since season 1, up until his death in September 2023. It was previously confirmed the newest season of the show would feature an episode dedicated to Ducky and the actor who portrayed him.
Speaking with TVLine, Dietzen explained why Ducky’s tribute episode in NCIS season 21 will involve Jimmy finding his body in his home. The actor explained how close the two characters were, and how that makes him finding the deceased Historian all the more important to show in the episode. Check out what Dietzen had to say below:
I think everyone knows that we want to honor not only the character of Ducky, but also David McCallum, in a proper way, and what was important about it was showing that this is a family — how you come in and take care of your own, how you are there for your loved ones. This is a part of Jimmy’s daily existence, going into Ducky’s house and picking him up to bring him to work, dropping off some coffee, maybe just checking in on him as you do with with a family member. I thought that it was really important to show how hard this team is hit, how hard they’re rocked by this loss. And the person that certainly was closest to him was Jimmy.
NCIS Won’t Be The Same Without Ducky
The Medical Examiner first appeared in season 1 of the show, having a major role to play in the weekly cases the team would tackle. However, in recent years, Ducky hasn’t appeared as much as he usually does, despite still being considered a series regular on the show. Even with a reduced role, his presence in the show was always powerful, as he represented the origins of the series through his continued involvement.
The end of NCIS season 21, episode 1 teased the upcoming episode, while a trailer hinted at Gibbs and DiNozzo briefly returning for a flashback scene. Given how close everyone on the team was to Ducky – and how close they were to McCallum before his passing – it would make sense for past characters to come back in this special episode. However, Jimmy was a character who worked alongside Ducky for quite some time, making it clear as to why he’ll be an important part of the episode.
From the information available about the episode so far, it seems like it will be an emotional entry that involves the entire team grieving for their loss. While it will be emotional within the context of NCIS, it also promises to be a respectful tribute to McCallum’s work on the show. It seems more details about the episode will remain sparse until it premieres on CBS on February 19.
