Beyond Gibbs and Tony: The NCIS Star Who Quietly Dominated Episode Count

David McCallum surpasses Mark Harmon with most NCIS appearances.

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For over two decades, NCIS has been a comforting constant on our screens, a reliable purveyor of crime-solving drama with characters who feel like old friends. You'd think, with all those years, it'd be Gibbs or Tony, those guys who were always there, racking up the episode count. But nope. Turns out, it's a bit of a curveball.

Seriously, think about it. That show's been on since, like, 2003. Twenty-two seasons! That's insane. And yeah, people come and go, right? But some folks just stick. Like, those classic characters, Gibbs and Tony, you just assume they'd be the top dogs.

A heartwarming image of David McCallum as Ducky Mallard, possibly in his lab or interacting with another character in a friendly way. — David McCallum Ducky Mallard

But here's the thing. There's this character, you gotta love him, right? Ducky. Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard. You know, the medical examiner? Turns out, he was in loads of episodes. Like, way more than you'd think.

I was digging around, and some Reddit user actually did the math. Crazy, right? They were saying, like, Ducky, or David McCallum, the actor, he clocked in at 458 episodes. Gibbs? Mark Harmon? 436. And then there's Tony, Michael Weatherly, way down at 308.

Now, I saw some other sites, Fandomwire, they had slightly different numbers, but still, Ducky was way up there. Sadly, he passed away a while back, in 2023. Real shame. And Gibbs, he's gone from the show too.

Sean Murray in a recent NCIS episode, looking confident and in charge. — Sean Murray NCIS season 22

But here's the kicker. Sean Murray, McGee, right? He's been there basically since the start, season two, and he's been consistent. He's actually passed Ducky, apparently. From what I was reading, he's hit 452 episodes, and that was before the newest season. So, he's probably way higher now.

It's kind of wild, isn't it? That McGee, the guy who started as the newbie, is now the one with the record. Just goes to show, you never know, right? And honestly, it’s a testament to how long the show has been running and how many changes it has gone through.

Anyway, just thought it was a cool bit of trivia. I mean, NCIS is still huge, and it's pretty impressive how long it's been on.

Sources: IMDb , chicagocenter.com