NCIS: Origins Casts Kyle Schmid as Young Mike Franks

NCIS: Origins has tapped Kyle Schmid to play a pivotal legacy character in CBS’ forthcoming Young Gibbs-centric prequel series.

Schmid, best known for his starring role in History’s SEAL Team-themed limited series Six, will portray a young version of Mike Franks, the special agent originated on NCIS by Muse Watson.

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The newest chapter in the NCIS franchise, which is set shortly after the death of Gibbs’ first wife, will be narrated by Mark Harmon, who portrayed the character for 19 seasons on the flagship.

NCIS: Origins picks up in 1991, just as Young Gibbs (played by Austin Stowell) is starting his career as a newly minted Special Agent at the fledgling NIS Camp Pendleton office. There, Jethro forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by franchise legend Mike Franks.

Stowell’s Franks 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.” Much like the adult iteration of the character, Young Franks “is a born leader with an unwavering moral compass who’s determined to find justice by any means necessary.”

TVLine previously reported that NCIS: Origins will also feature a young version of Special Agent Vera Strickland, Franks’ onetime partner played by Roma Maffia in a Season 11 NCIS episode.

NCIS: Origins: Everything We Know So Far About CBS’ Young Gibbs Prequel Series

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The Origins ensemble also includes Mariel Molino (ABC’s Promised Land) as Special Agent Lala Dominguez, a former Marine with a dark sense of humor

Mark Harmon’s son Sean Harmon — who has played a younger version of Gibbs in several NCIS flashbacks, and who came up with the idea for NCIS: Origins — will executive-produce the new series along with his dad and co-showrunners Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North.

Schmid’s credits also include Syfy’s Being Human, ABC’s Big Sky and The CW’s Arrow.

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