“What’re you lookin’ at, probie?!” — Special Agent Mike Franks, “NCIS”
It was just this past February that I wrote (in one-third of a newsy post) about an in development, CBS prequel series in the “NCIS” franchise: “NCIS: Origins”. Since then, a few casting announcements have come out, so I wanted to get caught up on them. I considered waiting until they cast a young Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, but then I discovered that he didn’t join NIS/NCIS until Dec. 1992. Since the new show will be set in the 1991/1992 timeframe to begin, Ducky may not appear in the beginning or at all in Season 1.
So…
Austin Stowell (Whiplash, Bridge of Spies) will take the lead as new NIS agent — the agency doesn’t become ‘NCIS’ until 1993 — ‘Leroy Jethro Gibbs’, Gunnery Sergeant (USMC), assigned to a new team based out of Camp Pendleton. Stowell is pushing 40, as was Gibbs at this point in his career. As far as I can tell, Stowell seems like a pretty good choice. Btw, he already has experience with the franchise, having played a Marine corporal in the second season of “NCIS: Los Angeles” (2010).
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Mariel Molino (The Shade, “The Watchful Eye”) will play a new character, ‘Special Agent Lala Dominguez’. She is “a former Marine who navigates her 1990s male-dominated field with a steely resolve and a dark sense of humor. When a tormented Leroy Jethro Gibbs joins her team, the ensuing story between these two enigmatic outsiders is filled with sparks and turns that will keep the audience guessing.” (Note: The series begins after Gibbs’ first wife and their daughter were murdered, which longtime viewers of the original show are familiar with.)
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Kyle Schmid (“Six”, “Being Human”) has signed on to play NIS team leader (and mentor to Gibbs) ‘Special Agent Mike Franks’, a recurring character played by Muse Watson in “NCIS”. Franks is a proud Texan, thick-skinned, and “a born leader with an unwavering moral compass who’s determined to find justice by any means necessary.” I can see Schmid as a younger version of Watson, and early 40s is the right age. Schmid has played tough characters, even Navy characters, before, and I expect this will turn out to be a good piece of casting.
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Most recently, casting for a couple more new characters were announced. Diany Rodriguez (“The Blacklist”, “Twisted Metal”) once played ‘DHS Agent Garcia’ in an episode of “NCIS: New Orleans” a few years back. Now, she will have the role of “‘Special Agent Vera Strickland’, a no-nonsense, sharp-witted Brooklynite who’s tough as nails and never minces words. She’s spent her entire career being underestimated by misogynistic morons (as she calls them), but if it’s a fight those good ol’ boys are looking for, then it’s a fight they’re going to get.”
Tyla Abercrumbie (“The Chi”, “Low Winter Sun”) will be ‘Field Operation Support Officer Mary Jo’. In a nod to government acronym-mania, she calls herself the “HSIC” (Head Secretary in Charge). She is the lifeblood of the Camp Pendleton office, and she knows “where the bodies are buried.” Sounds like a fun character!
As long as the writers don’t overdo the womyn-fighting-for-respect-amongst-a-bunch-of-sexist-jerks angle, I think I may enjoy this show, which is scheduled for the 2024-2025 season. First, though, I really need to check out the last two NCIS spinoffs…
Heroes and Aliens 