'NCIS: Origins' Casts the Role of Young Mike Franks

The new chapter in the NCIS franchise, NCIS: Origins, which is the story of how LeRoy Jethro Gibbs became an NCIS agent, has cast a major character with the announcement today that Kyle Schmid will play Mike Franks, Gibbs’ mentor and the man who called him “probie.” The role of Mike Franks was played in the mothership by Muse Watkins.

The character is described as “a proud Texan who all but showers in his cowboy boots and sports a perfectly coiffed mustache that’s as thick as his skin. As NCIS fans know all too well, Franks is a born leader with an unwavering moral compass who’s determined to find justice by any means necessary.”

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Schmid joins Austin Stowell, who was previously announced as the young Gibbs, and Mariel Molino, who plays a newly introduced character, Special Agent Lala Dominguez, a former Marine with a dark sense of humor.

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NCIS: Origins, which will be narrated by Mark Harmon who originated the Gibbs role, will begin in 1991 when Gibbs starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.

Schmid is best known for his starring role in History’s limited series Six, BBC America’s Copper, Syfy’s Being Human, Netflix’s The I-Land and ABC’s Big Sky.

NCIS: Origins has a straight-to-series order for the 2024-2025 broadcast season.

Next, CBS Orders New Drama NCIS: Origins Featuring a Younger Gibbs