'NCIS: Los Angeles' Fans Get Disappointing News About Hetty

By Stephen Andrew

NCIS: Los Angeles fans have been wondering when Hetty will make a full return to the show, but unfortunately there is some disappointing news regarding her current status. According to comments from NCIS: Los Angeles showrunner R. Scott Gemmill, who spoke with Parade.com, Hetty's "story continues." However, he indicated that it would not be until after Season 13, such as when the show returns for Season 14 in the fall. "She was in at the beginning of this season and then we had her disappear," he said. "The plan is to follow that up next [season] with some reveal."

Ahead of Season 12, Gemmill spoke with TVLine and clarified how the show was handling Hetty's role while taking into consideration how cautious actress Linda Hunt, 77, has to be with the Covid-19 pandemic being so dangerous. "We're doing everything we can to keep everyone safe, and Linda is a little extra special in terms of how we have to look out for her," he said. Later, after Season 12 had ended, Gemmill explained, "Linda was away a lot more this season because of COVID and us trying to keep her safe.... And then finally, Linda had both her vaccines, she was feeling great, and she came back [for the finale]. And she was so happy to be back. She had been gone for so long and hadn't really interacted with anyone, so she was just so thrilled to be back on set."

For all of Season 12, Henrietta "Hetty" Lange had been absent from the series in a regular capacity, as she was away on a top-secret mission. Hetty would video-call the team from time to time, appearing to be in a warzone area of some kind, while intelligence analyst Nell Jones (Renée Felice Smith) filled in as the team's temporary operations manager at the Office of Special Projects (OSP). It was later learned that Hetty had been in war-torn Syria.

At the time, it seemed as if Hetty was never coming back to the team. At least, that's what Retired Navy Admiral Hollace Kilbride (Gerald McRaney) told the team. "Hetty's not coming back," he said during one of the season's final episodes. Notability, however, at one point in the same episode, Nell speaks to Kilbride and says something about having to "find [Hetty] first." She then says, "if I ever do track her down," possibly implying that she'd been looking for Hetty. In Season 13, Hetty turned up only for the premiere and has not yet made another appearance.

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