Fans of two-time Teen Choice: Action Actress (and Academy Award nominee) Linda Hunt will have to wait a little longer for Hetty to return to NCIS: Los Angeles.
Hunt only made a few appearances last season as the C0V1D pand3mic raged, including in the season finale, which also marked the final episode for series vets Renee Felice Smith and Barrett Foa.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep everyone safe,” showrunner R. Scott Gemmill told TVLine ahead of Season 12, “and Linda (now age 77) is a little extra special in terms of how we have to look out for her.”
“Linda was away a lot more this season because of C0V1D and us trying to keep her safe,” Gemmill admitted at the end of Season 12. Finally, Linda had both of her vaccines, she felt great, and she returned [for the finale]. And she was overjoyed to be back. She’d been gone for a long time and hadn’t really interacted with anyone, so she was overjoyed to be back on set.”
Hunt, on the other hand, appeared only in the season premiere before Hetty informed Kilbride that she needed to return to Syria, where she spent much of Season 12 and apparently left things in disarray.
In an interview with Parade.com, Gemmill stated that Hetty’s “story continues,” though not on-screen until this fall at the earliest.
“She was in at the start of this season, and then she vanished.” “The plan is to follow that up with a reveal next [season],” he said.
NCIS: Los Angeles has planted many seeds over the last year implying that Callen still doesn’t know the full story of how he was groomed as an orphan to become a spy, and whether he was a special project for Hetty or just one of many. “In terms of what Callen went through as a child, we’ve pitted her against him, so that’s something we’re very excited to explore and have fun with,” Gemmill told Parade.com. “That will be our focus in Season 14 when we return.”
NCIS: LA, like its mothership NCIS and its new Hawai’i spinoff, was renewed for the 2022-23 television season earlier this month. Episode 300 will air on Sunday, May 8.
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