NCIS Los Angeles Spoilers: Is Linda Hunt Retiring As Hetty Lange? What We Know!

NCIS Los Angeles spoilers tease that there is a lot of speculation that Linda Hunt is retiring as Hetty Lange. We say NO, and here is why. NCIS needs her, for one. Her pick for her replacement left in the final episode of the last season!

NCIS: Los Angeles Spoilers – Linda Hunt Has Acted In Many Shows Over The Years

NCIS: Los Angeles viewers may have recognized Linda from her years of acting in such movies as Space Rangers, The Practice, Carnivalé, Kindergarten Cop and Scorpion, for instance. Linda has also done lots of voice overs for cartoons such as Disney’s Pocahontas and Solo: A Star Wars Story. But NCIS viewers will agree that her portrayal as the feisty Hetty Lange is probably her best known role. Hetty has been Operations Manager at the Office of Special Projects, or OSP at NCIS Los Angeles since 2009, when the show first aired. Longtime NCIS: Los Angeles viewers know that Hetty’s bark is worse than her bite! After returning from active duty in Vietnam, she took in war orphans and took in Agent Grisha “G” Callen (Chris O’Donnell) as a teenager, and she also performed the marriage of Agents Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah) and Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) in season 10.

NCIS: Los Angeles Spoilers – Where Has Hetty Lange Been?

NCIS: Los Angeles viewers will recall that at the beginning of season 12, Hetty video-called Nell Jones (Renee Felice Smith) and told Nell she needed her to take her place at NCIS. Hetty didn’t give Nell (or NCIS: Los Angeles viewers) any clue of where she was or what she was doing, but it was later revealed that she was in Afghanistan on a secret mission. Hetty finally did surface in the season 12 finale, but fans took concern that the 76 year old Hunt was retiring. Later, it turned out that she was just playing it safe considering the COVID pandemic was going strong during the time that season 12 was filmed, Hunt even filmed her few appearances in her own driveway at her personal residence! During the season, Callen and others wondered if she had retired from NCIS until they found out she was on the mission in Afghanistan.

NCIS: Los Angeles Spoilers – Renee Felice Smith Left The Show And Nell Jones With Her

NCIS: Los Angeles viewers will recall that when Hetty made her brief return, two NCIS: Los Angeles team members left! That was Nell Jones – Hetty’s handpicked replacement – and Eric Beale (Barrett Foa). They left Los Angeles together and NCIS as well, bound for Tokyo, Japan. That leaves Hetty to run the OSP on her own, at least until she could find a worthy replacement. Viewers will recall that Hetty is pretty picky when it comes to who she would approve of as her replacement.

It has long been speculated that Hetty saw Nell as a younger version of herself, and that is why she was so fond of her and why she drafted her into replacing her. However, she understood when Nell wanted to leave, especially when she was leaving with her not so secret love Eric Beale! Will Linda Hunt eventually retire and Hetty Lange along with her? That may be a possibility, but not in season 13! NCIS: Los Angeles returns October 10, 2021.

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