NCIS Los Angeles Spoilers: Where Is Hetty Lange – Will Linda Hunt Return?

NCIS: Los Angeles spoilers tease that Hetty Lange, NCIS Operations Manager, played by Linda Hunt, has not been seen yet on the new season, which is season twelve. NCIS: Los Angeles will return this Sunday after a brief hiatus but still no Hetty in the spoilers. Is Linda Hunt off the series, or will she return?

NCIS: Los Angeles Spoilers – Hetty Lange Has Last Been Seen Via Video Link

NCIS Los Angeles fans have been concerned with why Hetty hasn’t been seen, and especially with the character’s – and actress’s – advanced age. Linda Hunt turned seventy-five years young in 2020. The last time Hetty was seen was when Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) received his NCIS agent badge and she promoted Nell Jones (Reneé Felice Smith) to interim operations manager in her absence.

That was via video link, where she indicated she was on some kind of secret mission and appeared in camo gear with a bulletproof vest. The team wondered if this was connected to her old Vietnam buddies and if they were still searching for members of her squad still missing in action, as Hetty wasn’t forthcoming about her location or her purpose there, and she wasn’t online long enough for them to track her.

Hetty hasn’t been seen in Season twelve yet at all. There were sparse clues in an episode called “Russia, Russia, Russia”. In that episode, agent G. Callen (Chris O’Donnell) had been taken for questioning by American intelligence because of Russian moles found in Syria.

As viewers know, Callen was born in Russia and brought to the United States as a child, by Hetty herself as it was revealed a couple of seasons ago when he finally met his father. Hetty, unknown to the team had left to deploy those moles herself and is now away working to get them released. However, Hetty hasn’t given any other clues about her plan.

NCIS: Los Angeles Spoilers – Why Is Linda Hunt Appearing So Rarely?

So, why is Linda Hunt appearing so rarely as Hetty? For one thing, the covid-19 pandemic struck, and the creators wanted to protect the elderly actress’ health during the height of the crisis. However, they are still allowing her to make appearances virtually, which is why even though she is not on set, they are filming her status reports to her team in her home’s driveway! She also had been having less scenes going back to season ten, when she had been involved in a real life automobile accident and took necessary time off to recover. At that time, she had made a statement saying how much she had appreciated the outpouring of support from concerned NCIS: Los Angeles fans following her accident.

Hunt continued, saying that she had hoped to return to playing Hetty full time at the start of that season, it took her a little longer to recover fully. She had looked forward to returning later in season ten. However, with Miss Hunt aging – gracefully, but still aging – she may have had retirement on her mind or at least slowing down for a couple of years now. Fans will have noticed that Hetty had seemed to have been grooming Nell to take her place as operations manager for quite some time!

Stay tuned to NCIS: Los Angeles, and keep checking NCIS: Los Angeles spoilers frequently for all the latest news, updates and developments!