Origins Casts Its Ducky and Abby Replacements for Gibbs’ Prequel Team

The prequel NCIS: Origins casts its Abby and Ducky replacements for the prequel team of Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Mike Franks. After the divisive cancellation of NCIS: HawaiiCBS is once again expanding its high-profile procedural franchise. This time, however, it is a prequel narrative with the Leroy Jethro Gibbs origin story by Mark Harmon. NCIS: Origins recast young Gibbs with Austin Stowell, who will play the character in the ’90s, during his first decade at the agency under the tutelage of Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid). In addition to the duo and Diany Rodriguez’s Vera Strickland, the rest of the cast are new characters.

A new report from Variety reveals that NCIS: Origins released his version of Pauley Perrette’s Abby Sciuto and David McCallum’s Ducky Mallard with Bobby Moynihan and Lori Petty, respectively. Moynihan will play Woodrow “Woody” Browne“the extremely overworked senior chemist and director of the NIS Forensic Laboratory, who makes up for his lack of sleep with an eccentric sense of humor.” About that, Petty will play Dr. Lenora Friedman, “an experienced pathologist from the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office.”

How Friedman and Woody on NCIS: Origins Shape the Original Gibbs MCRT Team

Abby and Ducky were part of Gibbs’ inaugural NCIS team

Ducky and Abby were part NCIS‘original team. In fact, his involvement in the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) predated the events of the main series, as they were already members of Gibbs’ squad during the show’s main backdoor pilot in NOTCH. Bringing in Moynihan and Petty as Friedman and Browne is a way to fill the void in what is technically the NIS version of MCRT. However, beyond their roles on the team, it’s also likely that this is CBS’ way of bringing in new, but still familiar, character types in the next NCIS prequel.

Joining young Gibbs, Franks, Strickland, Friedman and Browne in the main cast of NCIS: Origins are all new characters to the police procedural franchise, being Lala by Mariel Molino, Mary Jo by Tyla Abercrumbie and Randy by Caleb Martin Foote. Gibbs’ experience at Camp Pendleton shapes his unique but effective leadership style, particularly NCIS show. As a recently discharged Marine, his time under Franks’ command will be pivotal in his future. So seeing Gibbs working with people who remind him of Abby and Ducky could be the sentimental reason why he eventually develops a close relationship with Perrette and McCallum’s characters.

In addition to producing NCIS: OriginsMark Harmon will also serve as the prequel’s narrator. Its dubs can confirm this idea, offering the project the opportunity to establish its connection with the main show, despite not being able to do any crossovers. Ultimately, while NCIS: Origins It’s really about Gibbs, his set will be key to his chance of success. So it’s also interesting to see how Franks’ team will operate compared to his protégé’s MCRT team.

What the Original Abby and Ducky Actors Are Doing Now

Perrette and McCallum are no longer acting

Pauley Perrette’s final episode of NCIS how Abby aired in 2018. Although she appeared in another series in 2020, Broken, She has since retired from the acting world. This does not mean that she has completely left the entertainment industry. Perrette has also worked as a director and producer since leaving the show. She appeared in the short documentary Red Ribbons of Love in 2023, but also produced and directed the short. She is also one of the producers of the documentary One Forever Studio.

David McCallum’s Ducky appeared in his last episode of NCIS in 2024 through previously recorded images. The legendary actor, who starred The Great Escape and UNCLE’S MAN in the 1960s, he died in 2024. He had already reduced his work on the series in the years leading up to his death, opening the door for Brian Dietzen’s Jimmy Palmer to take on a larger role on the series.

With the NCIS expansion of the franchise with several spin-offs in the near future, such as NCIS: Originsthere will be more chances for new characters to become fan favorites and for similar character types to be explored in new ways in the franchise.

Source: Variety