‘NCIS: LA’ Welcomes Special Guest Star for Milestone 300th Episode

NCIS: Los Angeles is ringing in its 300th episode with a special guest star! Joining the cast in the milestone episode of the CBS show, airing on May 8, is Richard Gant, who will play Special Agent Sam Hanna’s (LL Cool J) father, Raymond. In the episode, titled “Work & Family,” Sam moves in with his father, which might not be the easiest adjustment for either of them.

Also, the NCIS investigates after two men are blown up by their own explosives while attempting to break into a military base, and Callen wants to take the next step with Anna, according to the network. The 300th episode of NCIS: LA comes on the tail end of its 13th season, set to air its finale on May 22. CBS announced in March that the procedural will be back for its 14th season, bringing with it the return of Linda Hunt’s beloved character, Operations Manager Henrietta ‘Hetty’ Lange.

While Hetty was absent for most of Season 13, showrunner R Scott Gemmill confirmed to Parade that Hunt’s character would be making a return in Season 14. “She was in at the beginning of this season and then we had her disappear. The plan is to follow that up next [season] with some reveal,” he told the outlet of the idea to have Hetty return to Syria to wrap up loose ends of her mysterious mission. “We’ve pitted her a little bit against Callen in terms of what he went through as a child, so that’s something we’re very eager to explore and have fun with.”

He continued, “We saw a little bit of that confrontation earlier this year, but before they could really have it out, she disappeared again. That’ll be a focus for us in season 14 when we come back.” Gemmill previously shared that Hunt’s absence from most of the season was due to COVID precautions for the 77-year-old actress. 

Paramount+ also announced in February that a new spinoff, NCIS: Sydney, was on the way, debuting on Paramount+ and Network 10 in Australia in 2023. This marks the first show in the franchise to be set in a country outside of the U.S. and will be filmed in Sydney, Australia. NCIS: Los Angeles airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.