The death of Mike Franks (Muse Watson) in “NCIS” Season 8 didn’t please writer Jesse Stern one bit. An important early recurring character on the CBS police procedural and the mentor of Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), Franks met his demise when serial killer Jonas Cobb (Kerr Smith) stabbed him in the chest in the Season 8 episode “Swan Song.”
During a conversation on the “Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch” podcast in 2024, Stern shared how he reacted to being told by the late executive producer Gary Glasberg that he had to end Franks’ life. “He said, ‘We’re going to kill Mike Franks.’ And Franks hadn’t been in an episode that season,” Stern recalled. “And I was just like, ‘Are you kidding? We’re going to bring the guy in just to kill him off?’ I’m like, ‘Everyone’s going to see it coming. It’s not the way to do it.’ So I tried to talk him out of that decision, but he was determined that we were going to kill Mike Franks.”
Rather than dying from terminal lung cancer, Franks met a violent end that surprised many viewers. Despite mixed reactions on how “NCIS” handled the character’s exit, Franks remains a beloved character on the show.
After his death, Mike Franks returned to NCIS multiple times
Fortunately for “NCIS” fans, the supervisory special agent made numerous appearances on the crime series after his death. Unsatisfied with the decision to eliminate Franks, Jesse Stern made sure to pave the way for him to return to the story in some form. “That was my last script,” he explained on the podcast. “I was like, ‘If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it in a swan song.’ I’m going to do it in a way you don’t see coming and I’m going to do it in a way where the actor can come back.”
From “NCIS” Season 9 to Season 15, Muse Watson reprised his role in flashback scenes and even took the form of Franks’ ghost. Even in death, Franks continued helping Gibbs navigate complicated cases and difficult decisions through his spiritual presence on “NCIS.” Watson also made a guest appearance on “NCIS: Origins” in 2025 as the younger version of Franks (Kyle Schmid), who briefly turns into his older self during a sequence in Season 2, Episode 5. Even though Franks was killed off, “NCIS” ensured that his influence would continue to be felt throughout the franchise.