‘NCIS’ Adds James Frain to Complicate Torres’ Mission

Meredith JacobsTue, November 10, 2026 at 12:53 AM UTC

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James Frain as John Smith — 'NCIS' Season 24 Episode 6 "Ride or Die" - Sonja Flemming/CBS

There’s a bit of fun casting for an upcoming episode of NCIS that has us thinking this has to be a recurring role (or at least it should be).

CBS has released the official description for the Tuesday, November 17, episode, aptly titled “Ride or Die”: “When Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) gets roped into driving a getaway car during a kidnapping, he goes undercover to protect the target – staying one wrong move away from getting himself, and everyone in that car, killed.” James Frain is a guest star, playing “the mysterious John Smith, whose arrival complicates Torres’ dangerous mission.”

Frain is known for numerous TV roles, including Orphan Black, Gotham, The Tudors, True Blood, and Star Trek: Discovery, and he feels like someone who would be cast in a recurring role on NCIS. Plus, there is an ongoing storyline with Torres currently in NCIS Season 24, though we don’t know quite yet if this episode’s undercover op from him will be related to it. The photos below suggest it could be a one-off.

Sonja Flemming/CBS

Sonja Flemming/CBS

Three episodes prior to this one, Torres accepted side jobs with the CIA — deep cover work, off the books, high risk — from his former handler Keller (Mike O’Malley). We have yet to see that come to fruition, so could this episode be leaning into that?

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For Torres, these jobs are about figuring out who he is now, especially compared to who he was back when he was undercover and he went dark.

“In order to find out, he has to throw himself in the deep end again. He can’t just psychologically make a decision. He’s just going to throw himself in the deep end and swim it out and figure out [if he] can survive it?” Valderrama told TV Insider while discussing that episode. “And in every task force and in every team, you need a guy who is willing to go farther than anyone else. And I think this is a great and interesting and exciting setup for things to come for Torres. But I think that Torres, when you really think about the makeup of Torres, and you think about his blueprint, he was built, taught, and trained to [be in] some pretty extraordinary, terrifying situations for anyone who could just be a homicide detective.”

He continued, “There is a button, there is a trigger that, when ignited by his superiors, he turns into that wolf. He turns into that lone wolf, and he is willing to go where most just won’t. And I think that’s something that Torres has been craving: Going back into what he’s really good at, going back to get bad guys that most can’t. And I think that’s what’s probably teasing here, that these CIA jobs or these side jobs are going to teach Torres which version of himself is he the happiest in? Is it just complacent, being in the team and just doing what he’s told? Or is it being in the field and just making decisions by instinct and by presentation, whatever reaction he has to create with whatever case he gets confronted with?”

NCIS, Tuesdays, 8/7c, CBS

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”