So, what does that mean for Hetty? Will we see her again? According to an unofficial source close to production, Hunt’s status with NCIS: Los Angeles hasn’t changed, and she will return at some point. When and how remains to be discovered, and what the dangerous mission that took Hetty back into the field is, will also be revealed at some future date. After all, Hetty is too important of a character for her not to get a fitting goodbye when the time comes. That has already happened once on the show. The death of Miguel Ferrer, who died of cancer on Jan. 19, 2017, had his character written out off-camera with Owen Granger first disappearing and then his death being revealed in a later episode. Original June 3, 2021: Gerald McRaney, who has been popping in and out of NCIS: Los Angeles in his role as Retired Navy Admiral Hollace Kilbride since 2014, has become a series regular as of the upcoming Season 13, according to Deadline. What isn’t indicated in that story is whether or not Kilbride will take over the running of the Los Angeles office of NCIS, replacing Henrietta “Hetty” Lange (Linda Hunt) as the Operations Manager for the Office of Special Projects (OSP). We know that Hetty tried to turn the job over to Intelligence Analyst Nell Jones (Renée Felice Smith), but Nell not only turned her down. She gave her notice and is leaving NCIS to work with Eric Beale (Barrett Foa) at his computer software company Kaleidoscope, which is opening up a new office in Tokyo. “When you have an actor of Gerald McRaney’s caliber, you do everything you can to make sure you get him as often as possible,” executive producer R. Scott Gemmill told the outlet. “Admiral Kilbride has been an esteemed part of our universe for seven years now and we look forward to viewers seeing him come in and shake up our NCIS: LA world.” That said, Hunt is expected to return this season, along with Chris O’Donnell (Special Agent G. Callen), LL Cool J (Special Agent Sam Hanna), Daniela Ruah (Special Agent Kensi Blye), Eric Christian Olsen (Special Agent Marty Deeks), Medalion Rahimi (Special Agent Fatima Namazi) and Caleb Castille (Special Agent Devin Rountree). NCIS: Los Angeles airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Next, NCIS: Los Angeles Is Making Waves! Here’s Who’s Coming and Leaving in Season 13
