NCIS: Origins casts a younger version of Mike Franks, Gibbs’ former partner who was played by Muse Watson in the original crime procedural show.
NCIS: Origins has found its Mike Franks. The upcoming show is a prequel to NCIS following the early years of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the character originated by Mark Harmon, who will be returning as narrator. Mike Franks (Muse Watson) was a character who made quite a few appearances on the original show, as he was the mentor and former partner to Gibbs. While Franks was killed toward the end of season 8, he still made further appearances via flashbacks and daydreams through season 15.
Per Deadline, a young Mike Franks has been cast for the NCIS: Origins prequel. Kyle Schmid will be joining the cast, playing the younger version of Watson’s iconic role. He joins a growing ensemble that already includes A Friend of the Family’s Austin Stowell as Gibbs and The Watchful Eye’s Mariel Molino as a new character, Special Agent Lala Dominguez.
Everywhere You’ve Seen Kyle Schmid
Schmid has a rich television career playing recurring characters.
Because the character is so important to the overall franchise, his overall treatment and his chemistry with the cast will be key to maintaining a strong audience base for season 1 of the prequel.
The Leroy Jethro Gibbs prequel show will likely provide Schmid with his biggest break yet. However, he has appeared in many projects since his onscreen career began in the mid-1990s. This includes feature-length titles ranging from his debut in the 1996 movie Virus to his recent appearance opposite Ali Larter and Ron Perlman in 2021’s The Last Victim. Prominent movies in which he has appeared between those titles include Fast Food High, The Cheetah Girls, The Covenant, and the 2005 quadruple feature of The Pacifier, A History of Violence, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Zerophilia.
Schmid has also made a wide variety of television appearances over the years. This includes short-term appearances on shows including Accused, The Rookie, CSI: Cyber, Arrow, Smallville, CSI: Miami, and Degrassi: The Next Generation. However, he has also taken on a variety of longer-running roles that have likely helped prepare him for the possibility of the prequel show potentially having the longevity of the other long-running shows in the NCIS universe. Below, see a breakdown of Schmid’s longest-running television roles up to this point:
It is very important that NCIS: Origins finds the right cast to star opposite a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Because the character is so important to the overall franchise, his overall treatment and his chemistry with the cast will be key to maintaining a strong audience base for season 1 of the prequel. Given his experience in a wide range of genres and mediums, Schmid seems well-prepared to meet that challenge.