The Real Reason Muse Watson Left NCIS

Muse Watson became known to "NCIS" fans as the most brusque-yet-genuine-natured former marine Mike Franks, having made his debut on the show during Season 3 in the episode titled "Hiatus (Part #1)," according to IMDb. Unfortunately for those who adored watching him mentor Mark Harmon's character, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Franks' journey came to a heartbreaking demise. As dedicated viewers can recall, it wasn't the character's terminal lung cancer diagnosis that killed him — he was actually stabbed to death by a serial killer.

Watson once opened up about his exit from "NCIS" when he replied to a fan on Twitter who asked why he left the series. Waston said: "Because they wrote that i got stabbed by ONE young man with a scapple." Referring to how Franks was murdered by the coined "Port-to-Port killer" — who was targeting Navy personnel — in the episode titled "Spider and the Fly" in September 2010, per IMDb, he hilariously added, "LOL ..and yes i was packing."

At the time of Franks' death, fans were devastated — which was ultimately the point the showrunners were trying to make. As then-executive producer Gary Glasberg told Entertainment Weekly, killing off Watson's character was not so much because he was no longer wanted on the show, but rather because they wanted to add some shock value to the series. "We love Muse Watson, we love the character, [his] relationship [with Gibbs] is very special and unique," he gushed. 

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