Members of the NCIS: Los Angeles cast and crew have weighed in on whether the character of Hetty will return to the show.
Henrietta “Hetty” Lange, the Operations Manager for the Office of Special Projects, has been played by actress Linda Hunt since 2009 but in recent years she has only made occasional appearances.
The minimized role has been attributed to safety concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, and, prior to the coronavirus, the fact that Hunt, 77, spent time away from the show to recover from a car accident that happened in July 2018.
The actress confirmed at the time that she had “no serious injuries” but Hunt, then 73, made fewer appearances on the show while she recuperated.
Actress Linda Hunt has played Henrietta “Hetty” Lange in “NCIS: Los Angeles” since 2009. Members of the cast and crew have weighed in on whether the character of Hetty will return to the show.
NCIS: Los Angeles returned to CBS on Sunday for Season 14, but the new episodes have left fans with more questions about Hetty’s whereabouts.
In the season premiere of the show, which focuses on the high-stakes world of the Office of Special Projects in Los Angeles, characters Callen (Chris O’Donell) and Kilbride (Gerald McRaney) got distressing news about a body found in Syria.
The description of the body matched that of Hetty and concerns for her welfare grew when the ID of one of Hetty’s aliases, Trudy Chambers, was found on the body.
At the end of the episode, titled Game of Drones, it was revealed that the body was not Hetty’s, much to the relief of her co-workers.
It was assumed, however, that she planted Trudy Chambers’ ID on the body herself, leading Callen to worry for her safety and question why she would want people to believe she is dead.
NCIS: Los Angeles viewers will need to tune in to the rest of the season to find out where Hetty’s storyline will take her.
Fans have long-assumed that Hetty will return to the show at some point as she still features in the opening credits, and this has now been confirmed by executive producer R. Scott Gemmill.
The showrunner told Newsweek in a statement via CBS: “Hetty has been an integral force within the agency and an especially important part of Callen’s past. As Callen starts thinking about his upcoming wedding to Anna, he would want Hetty present.
“The plan is to go and rescue her at some point and find out what she’s gotten herself into in Syria but we’re just trying to figure out when we can pull it off. The goal is to make it happen this season.”
