NCIS: Origins’ debut season included two episodes flashing back to a younger Mike Franks, both of which aired within just a few weeks of each other on the 2025 TV schedule. The first one explored Mike’s relationship with his brother Mason in 1969. And yet, when Mike was followed up on in 1982, he mentioned that he didn’t have a brother. Well, sorry to those of you who assumed that Mason died in the Vietnam War, because the NCIS: Origins Season 1 finale revealed that Mason is still alive. The prequel’s showrunners talked to CinemaBlend about bringing in the “present day” version of the character, which stems from just “one line” about him in the original NCIS.
Arguably the biggest events in "Cecilia" were Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Lala Dominguez nearly kissing, followed by Lala getting in a devastating car crash. But towards the end of the Season 1 finale, Mike got a call from Mason, who told him that they needed to talk about what happened in Vietnam. With the stage now set for the brothers to reunite, I asked Origins showrunners David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal what we can expect from Mike and Mason in Season 2, North told me:
I think this is an exciting story for us to tell because this is really the whole story with Mike Frank’s brother is just originating from one line that was set in the mothership of Franks having a brother. I think up until this point, most of the audience was assuming. Franks’ brother was killed in Vietnam. At least from my conversations with people, that was the thought.
Muse Watson played Mike Franks in 20 episodes across Seasons 3 to 15 of NCIS, both as a living human and a ghost that Leroy Jethro Gibbs would occasionally see of his late mentor post-“Swan Song.” While we did learn a decent amount about Mike on the “mothership,” NCIS: Origins is working with a still largely blank slate with Kyle Schmid’s younger incarnation of the character. So like North said, what started out as just one line of dialogue from years ago on NCIS is now being crafted as a Season 2 storyline.
Admittedly, when the flashbacks in “Monsoon” started, I’d wondered if Mason died in Vietnam, which is why Mike had drowned himself in alcohol and drugs. However, when Mike’s then-partner told him that there was someone calling and claiming to be his brother, to which Mike said he didn’t have a brother, I started thinking there was something else going on. Sure enough, Mason is alive and well, although apparently things didn’t end well between him and Mike. David J. North continued:
So knowing he's still out there, knowing that there was some kind of of rift is sort of uncharted waters for us to really take it to whatever direction we want. What's interesting to me is the one thing we know about Franks, this is a loyal guy, man. He's loyal to his core. So whatever happens that's caused this divide between his own blood has to be something that was really significant to him.
Mike Franks’ phone repeatedly rang throughout “Cecilia,” only for no one to respond whenever he answered it. That ended up being Mason, though he quickly informed his brother that him reaching out was not meant to be an “olive branch.” Like North said, loyalty is one of Mike’s most admirable traits, so I’m intrigued to find out what was so bad that led him to cut ties with his own brother.
Whether or not this plot thread will be picked back up at the start of NCIS: Origins Season 2 or later down the line remains to be seen. What we do know is that the prequel is expected to return sometime this fall on CBS alongside NCIS Season 23, and we’ll let you know when a specific date is announced.
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