NCIS: Los Angeles—The Third Season

In this third season of the spin-off from military investigative procedural favorite NCIS, Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J continue as stalwart team leader G. Callen and top field agent Sam Hanna, with Linda Hunt adding wry humor and dramatic heft as unit commander Hetty Lange. Most of the storylines here find Callen and Hanna working on cases involving the deaths of military personnel, or terrorist plots in the U.S. and abroad, but some highlight supporting unit members such as Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) or Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah), a pair who also share a seriocomic segment impersonating a married couple. Along the way, some rather dark secrets are revealed about characters' pasts, and this season adds some shocks about the fates of two semi-regulars (as well as some new ones, including Miguel Ferrer's NCIS assistant director), ending with a cliffhanger involving a master spy called the Chameleon (Christopher Lambert). Compiling all 24 episodes from 2011–12, extras include audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and a Hawaii Five-0 crossover episode. Recommended. (F. Swietek)