NCIS: Origins star Kyle Schmid teases how the upcoming Christmas episode will be crucial for Franks and Gibbs. Schmid plays Special Agent Mike Franks in the first NCIS spinoff that’s also a prequel, focusing on the early years of Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played by Austin Stowell) as he attempts to assemble a team in the very early 1990s. He accomplishes this with the help of Franks, his mentor, who Muse Watson played in the main NCIS series.
In an interview with TV Insider, Schmid previewed what to expect from the prequel’s upcoming Christmas episode. The episode, which airs December 16 on CBS at 10 PM ET, is a “really cool snapshot” of the Gibbs and Franks bond. In the quote below, the actor also touches on what makes the friendship between the two characters so crucial:
[It is] going to be a really cool snapshot that unveils a lot of the how and why of what transpires that convinces Franks to take Gibbs into his life and give him a second shot. And I think that moment in their relationship is so important because without it, there would be no future for anything. And so this is such a pivotal episode because it explains the catalyst of what gives us the future of Franks and Gibbs.
What The Christmas Episode Could Mean For Gibbs & Franks
It’s A Significant Moment For Gibbs
The episode is titled “Blue Bayou,” and it focuses on Gibbs’ first holiday without his wife and daughter. Flashbacks have revealed the unlikely journey that led him to work as a Special Agent at NCIS’ Camp Pendleton office, where he meets Franks and Lala (Mariel Molino). Up to now, the prequel has had a patient rollout of these significant early relationships that Gibbs develops. The holidays may be the time to take a considerable step.
Those who watched the main NCIS know of the significant bond that Gibbs and Franks have in their older age. It’s to the point that Franks is still very much present, regardless of the circumstances and the intervening years. The holiday episode may pull back the curtain on how Franks, the mentor, helps the newbie and further cements that dynamic to continue in a possible NCIS: Origins season 2.
The Verdict On Gibbs’ Prequel Relationship With Franks
There’s Crucial Continuity
The prequel hails from David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal. They serve as showrunners and are also veterans of the main NCIS series, executive producing alongside Mark and Sean Harmon. All four have a long history with the CBS franchise. Even though the new spinoff may chart its own path in a lot of ways, including with the NCIS: Origins mystery of ‘Her’, the Franks and Gibbs dynamic has roots and connections that are established but well worth fleshing out further.