NCIS: Origins is taking a break from airing new episodes over the festive season, but executive producer David J. North has teased fans will be in for a treat when it returns
NCIS: Origins viewers can expect to see a lot more of Mike Franks, with the show’s executive producer teasing there will be plenty of twists for the character.
The popular CBS program is currently on hiatus until January and fans are desperate to know what will happen next. Co-showrunner and executive producer David J. North has admitted viewers “won’t believe” what they have planned.
“We’re moving on to other characters. In the second half of the season, we’re about to learn a whole lot more about how Mike Franks became Mike Franks,” he teased. Mike, who’s played by Kyle Schmid in the spinoff show, has been part of NCIS since Muse Watson first played the older version in the flagship show.
Mike is known for being a mentor figure to several NCIS agents, including Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but not much is known about his life before joining the team. It seems like that is about to change.
“I’ll just say we’re really excited about it because the audience isn’t going to believe where we take this. As much as we think we know about Franks, we stay true to that, but we’re really coloring in how Franks became Franks,” David explained to Cinema Blend.
Following the revelation, some fans have speculated that we could learn more about how Mike joined NIS following his time in the United States Marine Corps. David also teased we can expect to learn more about Mike’s romances.
In NCIS: Origins, which is set in 1991, Mike is romantically involved with Tish Kwa’la (played by Tonantzin Carmelo). In the episode One Flew Over, it was revealed Tish was previously sexually assaulted in a parking lot.
Mike wanted to hunt down the man who assaulted her, but Tish begged him to stop. While Mike agreed, David teased that something will happen in the coming episodes which will prevent him from keeping the promise.
With fans speculating their relationship could end in tears, David said, “This season coming up, we’re going to delve much further into their relationship, and Franks is going to deal with some things personally that really affect him totally.”
He added, “When she asked him to give up looking for the man that assaulted her, that’s not an easy thing for Franks to do and maybe something he just can’t do.”
Luckily, fans won’t have to wait too long to see what happens in NCIS: Origins. The show is due to return to CBS on Monday, January 27.