NCIS: Los Angeles will shed further light on Special Agent Sam Hanna’s murky past in a Season 3 episode that will tap into portrayer LL Cool J’s musical background.

“It is a very, very powerful episode, one that reveals something about [LL’s] character,” executive producer Shane Brennan tells TVLine. “LL Cool J is excited about it, and he is going to be involved in the music for that episode. So that is something to look forward to.”

Brennan originally eyed the Sam-centric hour for Season 2, but kept it in the drawing board. Instead, he expects it to be among “the first three or four episodes” of the CBS hit’s third season.

The show boss did not elaborate on LL Cool J’s involvement in the music — will the Grammy-winning recording artist handpick the songs that are used to score scenes, or will he himself contribute tunes? (“Hanna Said Knock You Out,” anyone?) But when I spoke to LL prior to the NCIS spin-off’s launch, he laughed off the idea that he would ever rap as Sam. “No, no, no…,” he deferred. “I’m going to allow this to be a new chapter in my life.”

As previously scooped, another NCIS: LA agent getting a blast of backstory during the coming cycle will be Daniela Ruah’s Kensi Blye. “Next season we’ll focus on … the why and where of Kensi,” Brennan told me, hinting that the spilled secrets will rattle the “thing” she has simmering with Deeks. “When you reveal something about one character that the other doesn’t know, it puts pressure on the partnership,” Brennan explains. “It makes them ask questions.”

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Wishing Eric Christian Olsen a very Happy Birthday!!!

Question: I’m dying for some Hetty scoop after the NCIS: LA finale. Is Linda Hunt on board next season as a series regular? —Daniel
Ausiello: Yes, she’ll be back as a regular. In fact, I predict Hetty will be the last one standing on that show.

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What does Hetty’s resignation have to do with Callen’s history? A whole lot, as we’re about to learn in tonight’s “NCIS: LA” season finale (9/8c). Executive producer Shane Brennan explained how Hetty’s sudden disappearance is tied to information she possesses about Callen’s identity, and discussed how next season will delve deeper into each character’s backstory.

Take us inside your approach to the finale, and what you wanted to accomplish.
The finale turns the focus back on Callen and the many unanswered questions he has about his identity. Hetty is central to the finale and, as fans have come to realize, knows more about Callen than she’s prepared to admit.

Did anything disappoint you about this season? Anything you wish you could have done, but didn’t have the time, forethought or resources?
There were a couple of stories that I intended to tell this season that will now have to wait until season three. That’s not a bad thing. It means that as we’ve explored the characters this season – in particular Deeks and Sam – we’ve found there are more stories to tell, more to reveal about them.

What should fans look forward to next season? And if you haven’t gotten that far yet…what would your dream season be?
We’re well into preparing for next season – and it’s already shaping up to be the best season to date! It’s all about building the mythology of the series. We’re at a point now where we know a little about all of our regular characters’ back stories…but we want to know more. Season three will build on that, digging deeper into who they are and what makes them tick. The series arc is an exploration of identity, focusing on Callen discovering the truth about who he is… But as we journey with him, we also get to learn more about Sam, Kensi, Deeks, Hetty, Eric and Nell. And as for the dream season? That’ll be the last season of the series, when we take all of these character and story strands and draw them together…

What were the high points of the season?
So many high points this season. Kensi and Deeks’ blossoming relationship; the powerful conclusion of the Sam-Mo storyline; Callen finding more pieces of his ‘Who am I?’ jigsaw; and absolutely everything that involved Hetty!

Do you have a favorite episode, line, or scene from this season? If so – what?
I’d have to say the opening sequence of the first episode of the season. A breathtaking, compelling chase that in many respects epitomizes what this series is about – Callen trying to find out who he really is…

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NCIS: Los Angeles couldn’t carry on without Operations Manager Hetty Lange (Linda Hunt), could it? That’s just the question creator and executive producer Shane Brennan is prepared to ask in the sophomore CBS drama’s final two episodes.

Tuesday’s episode (9/8c, CBS) finds the team investigating the death of a Navy SEAL imposter who was set on fire. The investigation uncovers new intel on the whereabouts of a stolen canister of radioactive material that could be used to make a bomb.

Claire Forlani to recur on NCIS: LA as new operations manager

But the real bombshell comes from a woman by the name of Lauren Hunter (Camelot’s Claire Forlani), who shows up at the Operations Center and utters the phrase, “I am Hetty’s replacement,” just as Hetty mysteriously resigns. Brennan acknowledges that the development is somewhat out of the blue, but he says that was by design.

“The chaos that causes within the team … and the sense of ‘Why weren’t we told what the hell is happening here?’ [is] what I think the audience will be feeling as well,” Brennan says. “We all get to experience it together in the last episode.”

Indeed, Hetty’s surprise exit in the penultimate episode doesn’t mean she won’t appear in the finale. “She is in the center of the episode,” Brennan says. “She has no scenes with any of our regular characters, but Hetty is doing her thing. Is she in a position where she may not return? Absolutely.

Finale Preview: Get scoop on 39 season-enders

“You’re going to see a side of Hetty that you haven’t seen before,” Brennan continues. “You’re going to see something about her that’s very revealing, and you’re going to see Hetty fire an angry shot. She’s going to discharge her firearm and she’s doing so in anger. And she’s not at the shooting range! It’s self-preservation.”

But Brennan maintains that the real journey of NCIS: Los Angeles belongs to Callen (Chris O’Donnell). As such, look for some major revelations in his ongoing investigation into his past. And as luck would have it, his secrets might just be connected to Hetty’s.

“You’re going to find out more about who he is, and you’re going to be as shocked as he is,” Brennan says. “He’s finding out things in this last episode in particular that will totally rock him and totally rock the audience too. It’s the next step, but it’s not a step — it’s a leap. The questions everyone will be asking over the summer are: Who is Callen? Who is Callen really? And how much does Hetty actually know?”

NCIS: Los Angeles airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on CBS.

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Coming up on CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles (Tuesdays at 9/8c), Hetty’s unexpected resignation paired with the unwelcome arrival of a new character not only necessitates an in-person visit from Director Leon Vance, it tees up a season-ending reveal that promises to leave viewers — as well as Callen — reeling. Series boss Shane Brennan gave TVLine a look at what his game plan for Season 2 was, what lies at the root of Hetty’s actions, and a heated face-off that will leave Callen speaking in (many) tongues.

TVLINE | Take us back to last fall. NCIS: LA was coming off a tremendously successful first season. What were you set out do with Season 2?
It was fairly important to really establish the team. Eric Christian Olsen, from the moment I saw him, I knew he was perfect for the show. We had introduced him at the end of last season, and then it was about him joining the team and solidifying his place in it. And of course we did the same, much more low key, with Nell Jones (played by Renée Felice Smith). Both Nell and Deeks were characters that I had always planned to introduce, because to me [NCIS: LA] is about partnerships. I was keen to get Deeks and Kensi (Daniela Ruah) together as partners, with the kind of rapport that happens with Sam (LL Cool J) and Callen (Chris O’Donnell) — and likewise, though I didn’t anticipate it, with Nell and Eric (Barrett Foa) as well. It’s about making sure that when we move from Callen and Sam you have that same sense of fun, that people who have a favorite characters get to spend some time with them.

TVLINE | And for those whose favorites are Sam and Callen: What do you feel you accomplished with them this season?
It’s not so much what we’ve accomplished but what we’re in the middle of doing, or at the beginning of: setting up a relationship that we can now play with. We saw Callen react to Sam getting to involved with the Mo character and the arc we went on there, with his trip to Africa to kill the guy responsible for Mo’s death. In the episodes leading up to the finale, we’ve reversed that role, with Sam concerned about Callen.

TVLINE | Lets talk about the upcoming Hetty resignation twist: Is this part of something we’ve gotten a taste of already? Or is it a standalone arc that begins this week?
There is nothing in this series that is not connected to Callen. While it’s kind of a buddy show, everything ultimately goes back to Callen. We are on Callen’s journey. And the shift, the twist, the reveal at the end of this season – that Hetty is involved in something – ultimately plays back to Callen. This has been laid out for sometime, and it plays out next season. In fact, what we reveal in the last episode is another big step in Callen’s journey. It’s something that the audience will go “Wow!” about. They’ll be as surprised as Callen is.

TVLINE | When I first got wind of Hetty’s resignation and the Claire Forlani (CSI: NY) character coming in as an operations manager, my first thought was: “Oh, I guess Linda Hunt has had her fill of serialized television.”
I would say that Linda Hunt is having the time of her life! She is really enjoying herself. As for the Claire Forlani character, whose name is Lauren Hunter… I’ll give you a line from the finale (airing May 17). Hunter says to Callen that she knows Hetty better than Callen does. So to say there’s a relationship between Hunter and Hetty is an understatement.

TVLINE | Safe to say that Hetty isn’t taking off because she’s the Port-to-Port Killer [from NCIS]?
Yes, we can rule her out as the Port-to-Port Killer. There’s your headline.

TVLINE | I can’t imagine Lauren Hunter gets a warm welcome from Callen.
She pops up at the end of this week’s episode, shocking everyone, and in her first scene with Callen, in the final episode, I put both of them through the wringer. Basically it’s a confrontation, but it’s a confrontation in five different languages. It becomes a confrontation and a contest at the same time, and they were word-perfect. It’s a real fun introduction, but it’s a conflict that they have. There are questions, Callen wants answers – and Hunter has some of those answers. And the other interesting reveal is that Vance (Rocky Carroll) makes his presence known in L.A.

TVLINE | People don’t grab Cristine Rose (Heroes) for just any old role. What have you got her doing in the season finale?
I’m going to have to be very coy about that. But I will tell you that it’s probably one of the most powerful reveals. When we introduce her in that episode, the hair on the back of your neck is going to stand up. In fact, just before this interview I was showing someone the scene where she appears and it is startling. She is just a fabulous, fabulous actress.

TVLINE | Of course I need to ask about Kensi and Deeks, with whom you’ve been not quite as subtle as Tony and Ziva. Will there be any movement with their “thing” in these last two episodes?
What do you mean, Matt? Deeks said it last episode: “There is no thing”! [Chuckles] We’ll just have to wait and see. We revealed some interesting backstory on Deeks this season, and there’s more to find out there, but next season we’ll focus on Kensi – the why and where of Kensi. Again, it goes back to partners: When you reveal something about one character that the other doesn’t know, it puts pressure on the partnership. It makes them ask questions.

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