NCIS: LA Boss Teases ‘Fun and Hopeful’ Series Finale, What’s Ahead in Hetty Storyline — Plus, Get the New End Date

NCIS: Los Angeles fans will have to wait an extra week for the series finale — the two-parter will now conclude on Sunday, May 21 — but if it’s any consolation, it seems poised to leave you in a happy place.

Speaking with Parade.com at the series finale wrap party on Friday night, showrunner R. Scott Gemmill acknowledged that because the high-octane CBS procedural has run for 14 seasons, “the more difficult it is” to craft a satisfying ending, “because there’s so much expectation, and how do you live up to that?”

His solution was to approach the series finale “on a character-by-character basis” and try to put everyone in “a very good place in their lives” by the time the series fades to black. “And hopefully the fans will be happy with it. I think the last scene is really fun and hopeful.”

As for TVLine readers’ No. 1 wish for the series finale — to see or at least hear from Linda Hunt’s Hetty again, after so protracted an absence — Gemmill stopped short of saying that Callen & Co. will embark on a mission to find their MIA boss and bring her home, from Syria or wherever.

“We don’t get to that point, but it’s put in motion,” Gemmill allowed. “We are going to have steps taken to resolve Hetty’s storyline in a way that I hope leaves fans feeling excited.”