When NCIS: Los Angeles finally turned off the lights at the Office of Special Projects after fourteen seasons, it wasn't just another procedural ending. It felt like a breakup. We'd spent over a decade watching this specific, weirdly cohesive family chase arms dealers and hack satellites. But if you look back at the NCIS Los Angeles characters who started the journey versus those who ended it, the evolution is actually pretty wild. Most fans remember the high-octane chases, yet the real meat of the show was always in the messy, human details that the writers snuck in between the gunfights.
Honestly, the show survived as long as it did because it wasn't just a military drama. It was a character study disguised as an action flick. You had G. Callen, a man who literally didn't know his own name for years. You had Sam Hanna, a Navy SEAL who could bench press a truck but was the most sensitive "mother hen" of the group.
Why G. Callen is More Than Just a "Lone Wolf"
People often pigeonhole Grisha Alexandrovich Nikolaev Callen as the typical brooding lead. But that's a bit of a surface-level take. Chris O’Donnell played Callen with this subtle, vibrating anxiety that only made sense once you realized he grew up in dozens of foster homes. For most of the series, his name was just "G." That’s it. Just a letter.
Imagine living forty years without knowing what that letter stood for.
His character arc wasn't just about catching bad guys; it was a desperate, sometimes painful search for identity. When we finally found out his mother was a KGB operative and his father was an international arms dealer, it clicked. His "lone wolf" attitude wasn't cool—it was a survival mechanism. By the time he finally married Anna Kolcheck in the series finale, the "G" had become a man who actually trusted people enough to let them stay.
The Partnership That Defined a Decade
You can't talk about the team without the Sam and Callen "bromance." It’s a cliché word, but it fits. LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell had this chemistry that felt like an old married couple. They bickered about everything—Sam’s pristine car, Callen’s lack of a proper diet, the "rules" of the road.
📖 Related: Donna Summer Endless Summer Greatest Hits: What Most People Get Wrong
But there was deep, heavy stuff there too.
Remember when Sam’s wife, Michelle, was murdered? That wasn't just a plot point. It shifted Sam's entire character. He went from the invincible warrior to a grieving father trying to protect his kids from the very world he worked in. Callen was the only one who could really reach him during that time because they were two sides of the same coin. Sam had the family Callen never did, and when Sam lost it, Callen was the one who taught him how to be part of a team again.
The Mystery of Hetty Lange
Henrietta "Hetty" Lange is the character everyone asks about. Linda Hunt played her as this diminutive, tea-sipping titan who could probably topple a small government with a single phone call. But as the seasons went on, Hetty became more of a ghost.
Real life played a huge hand here. Linda Hunt was in a serious car accident in 2018, which kept her away for a long time. Then the pandemic hit. Since she was in a higher-risk age group, the production had to get creative. They literally filmed scenes in her driveway to keep her safe.
This led to the "Syria" storyline, where Hetty was off on some cryptic mission for years. Fans were frustrated, and rightly so. We wanted the OSP matriarch back in her chair, judging everyone's fashion choices. Instead, she ended the series as a voice on a recording, still pulling strings from the shadows. The finale even ended with Callen and Sam heading to Morocco on a "side project" to find her. It was a cliffhanger that we might never see resolved, though there’s always talk of a TV movie.
👉 See also: Do You Believe in Love: The Song That Almost Ended Huey Lewis and the News
Densi: The Relationship That Actually Worked
In most TV shows, when the two leads finally get together, the show dies. "The Moonlighting Curse," they call it. But Kensi Blye and Marty Deeks (played by Daniela Ruah and Eric Christian Olsen) actually got more interesting after they hooked up.
Kensi was the "Sunshine and Gunpowder" girl—tough, lethal, and emotionally guarded. Deeks was the LAPD liaison who used jokes as a shield. Their slow burn took years. We’re talking "non-undercover" first kisses in Season 4 and a wedding not happening until Season 10.
A fun bit of trivia that still trips people up: Daniela Ruah and Eric Christian Olsen are actually siblings-in-law in real life. Daniela is married to Eric’s brother, David Paul Olsen (who was also Eric’s stunt double on the show). So, all those romantic scenes? Yeah, they were probably a bit awkward at the family Thanksgiving table.
By the end, they weren't just partners; they were foster parents to Rosa and, in the series finale, found out they were finally expecting a baby of their own. It was a rare "happy ending" for a genre that usually kills off one half of the couple for drama.
The Technical Wizardry and the New Guard
The middle seasons saw a massive shift in the office dynamic. We lost the "Wonder Twins," Eric Beale and Nell Jones. Barrett Foa and Renée Felice Smith played the tech geniuses who were the heartbeat of the Ops center. Their exit in Season 12—moving to Tokyo to run Eric’s tech firm—left a giant hole.
✨ Don't miss: Disney Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail: Is the New York Botanical Garden Event Worth Your Money?
To fill it, the show brought in:
- Admiral Hollace Kilbride: Gerald McRaney brought a grumpy, "get off my lawn" energy that the show desperately needed after Hetty’s departure.
- Fatima Namazi: A tech-savvy agent who wore a hijab and brought a fresh, modern perspective to the field.
- Devin Rountree: The rookie who reminded us all how dangerous this job actually is.
Kilbride, specifically, was a masterstroke. He didn't try to be Hetty. He was a no-nonsense military man who viewed the team’s "cowboy" antics with a mixture of respect and absolute horror.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Rewatchers
If you’re planning a rewatch or just diving in for the first time, keep these things in mind to get the most out of the NCIS Los Angeles characters:
- Watch the background: Hetty often hides clues to her past in the items on her desk or the books she’s reading.
- Track the "G" mystery: Pay attention to how Callen reacts every time someone mentions a family or a name. It’s a slow-build tragedy that pays off.
- The Deeks/Kensi banter: Early on, their "banter" is actually a battle for dominance. It only softens once they realize they’re in love.
- The Sam Hanna evolution: Watch Sam’s transition from a rigid SEAL to a father who realizes his kids are his true legacy.
The show might be over, but the way these characters were written—with flaws, trauma, and weirdly specific hobbies—makes them feel more real than your average TV cops. They weren't perfect. They were just people trying to do a hard job while keeping their "found family" together.
To dig deeper into the world of NCIS: LA, you can explore the various crossover episodes with the original NCIS and NCIS: Hawai'i to see how these characters interact with different team dynamics. Observing how Sam Hanna carries his Los Angeles experiences into his later appearances in the franchise provides a fascinating look at long-term character growth.