‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ Aired Another Episode Without LL Cool J—Is He Leaving the Show?

If you’re wondering why LL Cool J left NCIS: Los Angeles, you might be one of the fans who noticed that his character, Special Agent Sam Hanna, was missing in last week’s episode.

LL hyped up the episode with a preview clip on Instagram last week, but when the episode aired, Sam was nowhere to be found. “Where is Sam?” one tweeted.

“By the way, is this the first episode we haven’t seen Sam at all?” another wrote. (Seems like it was: “All the Little Things” is the first of 291 NCIS: LA episodes in which LL is credited but didn’t appear, according to his IMDb filmography.)

LL didn’t reveal why he sat the episode out, but don’t say goodbye to his NCIS: LA character yet! Read on for details about Sam’s absence last week and his upcoming return…

NCIS Special Agent Fatima Namazi (Madalion Rahimi) explained that Sam was out of the office in a scene from the most recent episode, and that it would be up to the rest of the team to handle the current case.

We have good news for all you LL Cool J fans out there. The rapper-turned-actor will be back in future episodes.

The actor hasn't made any comments about leaving, and it's unlikely the show would write off his character without warning since he's such an important member of the team and series.

In an interview with Australia’s Studio 10 last year, LL said it’s “pretty amazing” that the show has lasted so long. “It’s definitely unexpected,” he said. “I figured we’d go two years and be done, so this is great.”

The 54-year-old also said that he and his NCIS: LA coworkers are doing their best “to make sure the fans are entertained, keeping our eyes to the street in terms of what’s going on with humanity, not phoning it in, [and] appreciating the fact that we’re doing what we’re doing.”

NCIS: Los Angeles airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS and streams live and on-demand on Paramount+.