TV SERIES · 2009– · USA
NCIS: Los Angeles
36 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (36)
- #001
Miguel Ferrer was so committed to his role that he refused to take leave even after being diagnosed with cancer. When the illness began to affect his voice, it was reflected in his character as well.
- #002
The story arcs of two seasons were shaped by Daniela Ruah's pregnancy and her need for less screen time. In the second half of Season 5, while pregnant with her first child, Kensi was given a covert mission in Afghanistan. In the first half of Season 8, she was injured during a mission in Syria and the character fell into a coma.
- #003
Kensi Blye and Marty Deeks are far more than one of the show's romances. In real life they are in-laws: Daniela Ruah is married to stunt double David Paul Olsen, the older brother of Eric Christian Olsen, who plays Sam's former SEAL buddy Tom Olsen.
- #004
Here are the coordinates of the boat shed: "33.974828,-118.446349". Enter them into Google Maps for a look.
- #005
Because of the many crossovers between them, the series takes place in the same universe as JAG (1995), NCIS (2003), Hawaii Five-0 (2010), NCIS: New Orleans (2014), Scorpion (2014), NCIS: Hawai'i (2021), MacGyver (1985) and Magnum, P.I. (1980).
- #006
Chris O'Donnell had said he was interested in having Michael Weatherly appear on the series. This finally happened in Blame It on Rio (2015), though the characters did not acknowledge knowing each other.
- #007
G. Callen's birth name was revealed to be Grisha Alexandrovich Nikolaev, the son of Nikita Alexandr Reznikov. If the name followed the Russian patronymic tradition, G would be called Grisha Nikitovich Nikolaev (or Callen or Reznikov), and his father's middle name would be Alexandrovich (that is, Nikita Alexandrovich Reznikov). A patronymic is the father's first name ending in -ovich/-evich for a son and -ovna/-evna for a daughter.
- #008
The NCIS LA headquarters building that they zoom in on and out of is located at the site of the Marina Del Rey Garden Center at 13198 Mindanao Way. The coordinates are 33° 59' 00.0" N, 118° 26' 15.0" W. The NCIS boat shed is located at the Jane Browne Bove Boathouse of Loyola Marymount University at 13669 Fiji Way. The coordinates are 33° 58' 29.5" N, 118° 26' 47.0" W. The real appearance of these locations was digitally altered for the series, but these are the locations. The boat shed is about a mile from headquarters, which explains how they go back and forth so quickly.
- #009
When Dominic Vail (Adam Jamal Craig) was written out of the series, Brian Avers (Special Agent Mike Renko), who had also appeared in the backdoor pilot of NCIS (2003), was offered a main cast position. Avers turned down the contract but stayed on in a recurring role. As a result, the popular character Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) was created.
- #010
Paul Walker was considered for the role of G. Callen.
- #011
Because of injuries from a car accident, Linda Hunt could not take part in a full-time filming schedule. This forced her appearances as Hetty to be reduced. The producers gave her an open-ended invitation to appear on screen whenever she wished.
- #012
A spin-off of a spin-off (NCIS (2003) is a spin-off of JAG (1995)), NCIS: Los Angeles is one of the very few, and possibly the only, series of its kind to outlast the original show it came from. LA ran for 12 seasons (2022), while JAG ran for 10.
- #013
Agent Sullivan is repeatedly mentioned as Hetty's greatest loss in her NCIS career. Little is known about him; he was killed in 1999 while trying to infiltrate a fanatical militia group. Hetty recruited him into NCIS herself and personally wrote a letter of recommendation for the assignment that led to his death. Hetty never stopped blaming herself for his death.
- #014
The first ten seasons consisted of 24 episodes each, while the last four seasons consisted of only 22 (Seasons 11 and 13), 18 (Season 12) and 21 (Season 14) episodes.
- #015
The series was "introduced" in 2009 in the 22nd episode of the 6th season of the original NCIS series (Legend).
- #016
Callen's full first name is said to be Grisha, which is very fitting (a strange case of bare determinism, since he did not know his own name) because Grisha means awake or vigilant.
- #017
Before it went off the air on May 21, 2023, it was, along with Cyberchase (2002) and NCIS (2003), one of the last still-running American scripted TV programs of the 2000s.
- #018
Chris O'Donnell (Callen), LL Cool J (Sam) and Daniela Ruah (Kensi) are the only actors who appear in every episode.
- #019
The birthmark in Daniela Ruah's eye is such a uniquely beautiful feature that cosmetic contact lenses bearing the mark now exist.
- #020
Recurring guest star Pamela Reed (Roberta Deeks) had previously appeared alongside Linda Hunt (Hetty) in the film Kindergarten Cop (1990).
- #021
Chris O'Donnell and Linda Hunt worked with other members of Miguel Ferrer's family. O'Donnell appeared in Batman and Robin (1997) with his cousin George Clooney. Hunt appeared in Dune (1984) alongside her father, Jose Ferrer.
- #022
LL Cool J and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor appeared together in the film In Too Deep (1999).
- #023
Several cast members have family in the military: LL Cool J's grandfather was in the army and his father was in the navy, while one of Eric Christian Olsen's brothers was an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) technician and another was a former Navy SEAL.
- #024
A 14th-season finale was planned when the network decided not to renew the series. As a result, R. Scott Gemmill had to rewrite some scenes to make them more final and also had to cut other moments that would have set up an exciting role for season 15.
- #025
Because Admiral Kilbride is referred to only as "Admiral" rather than as a rear admiral or vice admiral, it is assumed that he was a full four-star admiral when he retired. Retired officers keep their rank as a mark of respect.
- #026
Explanation of the fields found in a service record: TEMAC - Temporary Active; ACCUTRA - Active Duty for Training or ADT; UIC - Unit Identification Code; UNC - Uncharacterized discharge.
- #027
Each backdoor pilot for the NCIS franchise consists of two parts (NCIS: Ice Queen (2003)/Meltdown (2003), NCIS: Los Angeles (2009): Legend: Part 1 (2009)/Legend: Part 2 (2009), and NCIS: New Orleans (2014): Crescent City: Part 1 (2014)/Crescent City: Part 2 (2014)), and in all of these two-part pilots there is a character who does not appear in the rest of the series. These include Vivian Blackadder (played by Robyn Lively) in NCIS's backdoor pilot, Lara Macy (played by Louise Lombard) in the NCIS Los Angeles backdoor pilot, and Wendell Hobbs (played by Aaron Moten) in the NCIS New Orleans backdoor pilot.
- #028
The series had a habit of stretching out storylines intended for future seasons. However, when the network announced the show's cancellation, the writers had to abandon storylines they had built up in previous seasons, leaving many of them unresolved.
- #029
It is the second-longest-running NCIS show after NCIS (2003).
- #030
It is the first and so far only NCIS spin-off to reach 10 years.
- #031
Hetty's surname, Lang, is of Germanic origin. It translates to "Long."
- #032
2SAQ321 is a recurring license plate number that appears on several different vehicles across multiple episodes. It is also the license plate number of Sydney Bristow's red truck in the series Alias.
- #033
It is the second and last NCIS show to premiere in the 2000s.
- #034
LL Cool J's 13th album, "Authentic" (released a month before the series' fourth-season finale), is the only album he produced and released during his time on the series.
- #035
There were two NCIS: LA novels, one written by Jeff Marriotte and the other by Jerome Preisler.
- #036
It is the first NCIS spin-off not to feature Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs from the flagship series NCIS (2003).
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