What Happened to Ducky in Season 19 of NCIS..?

NCIS season 19 is coming to an end, but not before fans welcome back the original beloved chief medical examiner Donald “Ducky” Mallard.

NCIS season 19 is coming to an end, with only a couple of episodes remaining. This season of the CBS police procedural has seen some new faces join the cast as well as some departures, including Agent Leroy Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon).

Following his departure, no original cast members remain on the show full-time, but Donald “Ducky” Mallard (played by David McCallum) will return.

NCIS has essentially formed an entirely new team as its cast members have left one by one.

Even Agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), widely regarded as a member of the original cast, was welcomed in season one, episode seven.

Season 19, episode 20, All or Nothing, will air on CBS on Monday, May 16, and will feature the return of former chief medical examiner Ducky.

He was last seen in the drama All Hands, season 19, episode 11.

What happened to Ducky in NCIS…?

David McCallum, who plays Ducky, has been with NCIS since 2003, serving as both a colleague and a friend to Agent Gibbs and the rest of the team.

However, when Season 16 premiered in 2019, McCallum decided he wanted to cut back on his hours working on the show.

“I am delighted to say that I have reached an agreement with CBS for Dr Donald Mallard to stay with NCIS for Season 16,” he tweeted at the time, alongside a photo of his cat.

“Once again, the schedule will be constrained. That arrangement will allow me to spend more time with Katherine, our children, six grandchildren, and Nickie, as seen below!”

Ducky has since appeared in random episodes of NCIS to assist the team when needed.

Ducky initially intended to retire from the drama to ensure he still had a role to play.

He was perplexed, because while he knew he didn’t want to be the chief medical examiner anymore, passing the torch to his assistant Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen), something was holding him back.

This is when Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll) stepped in with a different solution.

Ducky was given the newly created position of NCIS historian, which entailed combing through the archives to see if any key moments from the past could aid in current investigations.

He agreed to return on a part-time basis, so his job would be nowhere near as demanding as his time in the medical department.

So, while Ducky hasn’t appeared frequently onscreen, he is still a member of the team, albeit in a limited capacity.

He’ll make an appearance right before the end of NCIS season 19.

All or Nothing, the penultimate episode of Season 19, will air on CBS on Monday, May 16.

“NCIS investigates the unexpected d3ath of a Navy reservist who was an investigative journalist,” according to the synopsis.

“Also, Knight and Jimmy’s budding romance is put on hold when a life-saving organ transplant goes horribly wrong.”

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