NCIS Los Angeles on M6: Why isn’t Hattie part of Season 12?

But where did Hattie go? That’s the question every NCIS fan is asking themselves as they watch season 12 of the detective series, which airs from this Saturday July 20 on M6. Since Season 9, the character played by Linda Hunt has indeed become increasingly rare, for a number of reasons.

Long recovery in 2018

In 2018, the 77-year-old actor was a victim of a car accident, which kept him away from the set for many months. Hattie thus left NCIS: Los Angeles for all of Season 10, as well as part of Season 11.

“I was hoping to play Hattie at the beginning of the seasonLinda Hunt explained to our colleagues TVLine on time. “But it took me a little longer to recover. I look forward to coming back after the season.” But before he returned to NCIS: Los Angeles, the COVID epidemic disrupted all his plans.

Why isn’t Hattie in season 12?

M6 viewers won’t notice that Linda Hunt only makes a brief appearance in season 12 of NCIS: Los Angeles. And for good reason… this burst of episodes was filmed between 2020 and 2021, when the Covid epidemic was still raging around the world and vaccinations had yet to be implemented.

The 77-year-old actor was far away from the set due to his age. “Linda is holding back a lot more this season due to covid and we are trying to protect her,” showrunner Scott Gemmill of the detective series told TVLINE.

“Finally, Linda got two shots, felt good, and came back. He was very happy to be back. He had been gone for so long and hadn’t interacted with anyone in a long time, so he was happy to be back.”

Therefore Hattie appears in only a few episodes during the 12th season. The absence is explained by the need for the character to return to Syria. He only returns for the final. Unfortunately, it will only be short-lived, as the first episode of Season 13 sees Hattie return to Syria to deal with some issues with Al-Qaeda.

Catch Season 12 of NCIS: Los Angeles starting this Saturday, July 20 at 9:10pm on M6.