What Might Gerald McRaney’s ‘NCIS: LA’ Promotion Mean for the Team in Season 13?

Meredith Jacobs June 4, 2021

Gerald McRaney as Retired Navy Admiral Hollace Kilbride in NCIS: Los Angeles — Michael Yarish/CBS

NCIS: Los Angeles fans have reason to celebrate with Gerald McRaney‘s promotion to series regular for Season 13. Since his introduction as Retired Navy Admiral Hollace Kilbride in Season 6, McRaney has been one of the most entertaining parts of the series due to his reactions to everything at OSP (a.k.a. “things that could only happen in this office,” as the man himself put it in the finale).

Season 12 did set up the possibility of Kilbride being around more, with operations manager Hetty Lange (Linda Hunt) off in places unknown (to explain the star’s absence, due to the pandemic) and Nell Jones (Renée Felice Smith) filling in for her before leaving NCIS in the finale. And with Hetty’s role unknown moving forward — we do have to find out just what she’s been doing since it was clear in the finale that’s not over — perhaps we’ll see Kilbride maintaining a presence at OSP, at least to start. After all, we don’t know exactly what that “chat” Hetty said they had to have in the finale entailed.

'NCIS: LA's Renée Felice Smith Looks Back on Her Time as Nell

Maybe Kilbride will end up being Hetty’s permanent or semi-permanent replacement. We can’t help but think that Hetty will never be at OSP in the same capacity as in the past again, and Kilbride hasn’t been shy about how he feels about how Hetty does things so chances are he’ll at least have a few words about however she may want the position filled. Considering he unpacked her weapons back into the armory under her watchful eye in the finale, something tells us a compromise may be made and he could very well be that compromise.

Since his frustration over just how many ties to Russians there are amidst the team was so amusing, we’re just hoping he’s around in some capacity for whatever’s coming next with two ongoing storylines. Callen (Chris O’Donnell) was looking for files in Hetty’s office in the finale, something we assume is connected to Russians. Plus, Russian spy Katya (Eve Harlow), who has it out for Anna (Bar Paly), is still out there.

Whatever does happen, we know that we’re in for pure entertainment with McRaney sticking around. After all, as Smith told TV Insider, “he is a bulletproof scene partner. He does not mess up. Iron sharpens iron. He’s witty, he’s prepared, He is everything you want in a scene partner.”