When CBS made the decision to bring NCIS: Los Angeles to a close, fans were understandably shocked. While 14 seasons is quite a run, especially in today’s age of TV, the final season left fans wanting more and feeling a lack of closure when it came to Hetty’s storyline.
Originally, there were plans for the NCIS: Los Angeles team to set out on a mission to save Hetty in the series finale. Due to Linda Hunt’s limited availability in the final season, though, the show was unable to bring Hetty back in the series finale to give her story a proper closure.
Shortly after the show wrapped its run, there were whispers of a TV movie designed to wrap up Hetty’s storyline with a proper conclusion. Sadly, that never came to fruition, but it appears the NCIS: Los Angeles cast did not let the idea go.
In 2024, during the concurrent writers’ and actors’ strikes, it seems the NCIS: Los Angeles cast started tossing around the idea of a TV movie once again. The conversation didn’t just stop as an idea discussed by friends. No, it seems that the cast actually pitched the movie idea to CBS, but the network seemed to shut down the idea with the insinuation being that TV movies just don’t work well for broadcast.
“We suggested it actually, but I don’t think that formula works really well for CBS,” NCIS: Los Angeles star Chris O’Donnell told TVLine while promoting his new show, 911: Nashville. “When we were all sitting around during the strike, we were like we could crank one of these out in about six weeks, and it would actually be great. But it didn’t happen. It was tough to leave because everyone just loved working with each other.”
O’Donnell did not reveal exactly who in the cast discussed and pitched the idea to CBS, it is disappointing to know that the cast was ready to return to their characters for a TV movie only for the network to pass on the idea.
While TV movies aren’t exactly a common practice these days, we have to imagine that an NCIS: Los Angeles movie reuniting the cast for a mission to save Hetty would have undoubtedly performed well for the network as a special event. Even if CBS didn’t wish to be home to the movie, it would have been a fun addition to the Paramount+ catalog and surely performed well on the streaming service.
The good news is that the door remains open for the NCIS: Los Angeles cast to pop up in the flagship series. Just this season, we saw LL Cool J guest star in an episode of NCIS where he gave us some exciting updates about what Hetty, Callen, and Anna were up to since the series ended. We’re just not anticipating we’ll see O’Donnell appear anytime soon now that he’s set to star in ABC’s new 911 spinoff. Still, we can always hold onto hope that CBS might reconsider the idea to bring NCIS: Los Angeles back, be it for a movie or maybe a limited series!