NCIS: Los Angeles wrapped up its final season with a bang, throwing a memorable wrap party on the Paramount Studios lot, its home for the past 14 years. Parade had the privilege of speaking with showrunner R. Scott Gemmill about the highly-anticipated series finale, now expanded to a two-hour event scheduled for May 21, to uncover what fans can expect.
While Gemmill was careful not to reveal any spoilers, he did touch on some of the burning questions fans have been asking. Concerning the whereabouts of Hetty (Linda Hunt), who has been on a dangerous mission all season, Gemmill hinted at a resolution: “We don’t get to that point, but it’s put in motion. Let’s put it that way. We are going to have steps taken to resolve Hetty’s storyline in a way that I hope leaves fans feeling excited.”
As for the impending wedding of Callen (Chris O’Donnell) and Anna Kolcheck (Bar Paly), Gemmill confirmed that it’s happening and teased that it could very well be the finale: “That’s quite possible. There are a few surprises. We try to put everyone in a really good place and Callen and Anna are two of them.”
The humorous twist of Callen ending up with Arkady (Vyto Ruginis) as his father-in-law wasn’t lost on Gemmill either: “I love Vyto. He came in like so many people on our show as a one-off and we end up loving them and we keep bringing them back for multiple episodes. We’ve got this great, big family of characters that we get to draw upon.”
Crafting a satisfying series finale is no easy feat, especially with the weight of fan expectations. Gemmill acknowledged the challenge: “The longer you’re on the more difficult it is because there’s so much expectation and how do you live up to that? We just took it on a character-by-character basis and tried to put them in a very good place in their lives and, hopefully, the fans will be happy with it.”
With promises of resolution, surprises, and a hopeful last scene, NCIS: Los Angeles bids farewell in a way that aims to leave fans satisfied and characters fulfilled.