NCIS's Brian Dietzen Confirms Jimmy's NCIS: Hawaii Crossover Future

Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum) will forever be known as the original Chief Medical Examiner of "NCIS." But when the veteran took a step back in Season 16 for a less-demanding role, one of his close confidants was the only fitting person to follow in his footsteps. 

Jimmy Palmer (Brian Detzen) has been an "NCIS" mainstay since Season 1. He started his run on the show as Ducky's assistant, only to become his protege and natural successor. Since Ducky is still around on "NCIS" as the official historian, he still has reunions with Palmer here and there. For example, in Season 19, he assists Palmer in an autopsy, which is a pretty full-circle moment for the duo (via IMDb). 

CBS is preparing for an epic "NCIS" and "NCIS: Hawai'i" crossover on March 28, where Vanessa Lachey's Jane Tennant will team up with Special Agent Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) and Special Agent Jessica Knight (Katrina Law). The latest series, set in the tropical location, first premiered at the end of 2021, following the cases being investigated by the Pearl Harbor field office.

Palmer has been through plenty of ups and downs on the CBS crime procedural, and is one of the biggest characters on the show. Once the upcoming crossover was announced, fans were quick to wonder if Palmer would be hopping on a plane to the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  

Law and Valderrama previously confirmed via Instagram that they were headed to film "NCIS: Hawai'i," confirming Torres and Knight's roles in the crossover. More recently, Dietzen has unveiled whether or not his longtime character will be making an appearance as well. 

In an interview with TV Line, Dietzen revealed that he told showrunners to "Sign [him] up" to be on a future crossover. "And then it came down to Wil and Katrina going," he said. Considering "NCIS: Hawai'i" is still in its infancy, it's probably easier to just incorporate a few longstanding characters on the show rather than complicate things with a bigger cast. Dietzen added that Kasie Hines (Dona Reasonover) will be appearing in a scene for the March 28 crossover, but allegedly filmed from California rather than traveling on-location. 

While the crossover even will be without Palmer's intelligence and good-hearted nature, Dietzen isn't ruling out a future cameo just yet. "I'm holding out hope for next season," Palmer continued. "Maybe they'll do it either at the very beginning of the season or the very end, so I can parlay it into a couple of weeks there." Sounds like a win-win for the actor and "NCIS" fans.