Of all the characters in the ‘NCIS’ franchise, this one stands above the rest!
For two decades, with three spin-off series and 33 seasons between them, the NCIS franchise has become one of the most expansive and memorable shows to air on television. Throughout that time, the series has garnered praise for its action, writing, and engaging storylines across multiple settings. However, the main reason that the series attained and sustained such popularity lies in the excellence of its characters and their stories.
From the wit and humor of Agent DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) to the laid-back surfer attitude of Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) to the confident leadership of Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey), there has been such a variety of characters and personalities that make each series feel unique and each setting vibrant. It's the standout characters that make these series so noteworthy, with figures such as Agent Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) defining what it means to be an NCIS agent. However, surpassing even dozens of other contenders, the best part of the franchise is the character you'd least expect: the mysterious and supremely capable Agent Hetty Lange (Linda Hunt) from NCIS: Los Angeles.
Viewers love a reliable leader — someone who can lead their team of special agents to incredible success through their distinct leadership styles. Though the underdog story is rewarding in its own right, it's also quite satisfying watching people be the best at their profession. Hetty Lange is one of the premier examples of unfathomable professional success in the entire franchise. She serves as the Operations Manager of the NCIS branch in Los Angeles, leading the team with her wisdom, craft, and her unmatched experience and expertise.
Like countless other special agents in media, Hetty has a background shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Throughout the series, she is constantly calling in favors from all over the globe, with allusions to past adventures that likely would have filled another 20 seasons of a show itself. In the finale of NCIS: Los Angeles' second season, the team investigates Hetty's background and finds a resume as diverse as da Vinci and as intense as Jason Bourne. Through their findings they discover this smorgasbord of information on their operations manager: she speaks 10 languages fluently, has a Master of Fine Arts, is skilled in 3 martial art forms, won a Bronze Medal in a rifle event at the Olympics, is a published novelist, a pilot, a former film and stage actor, and has won countless awards and merits from multiple intelligence agencies. And that was all that they could identify at the time. In a franchise full of experienced and storied agents, Hetty is a living legend among comparably young upstarts still finding their places in the world of intelligence and defense.
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