Linda Hunt takes role in "NCIS: LA"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Oscar winner Linda Hunt has joined CBS' new drama series "NCIS: LA" as a regular.

She will fill the void left by the departure of Louise Lombard, who co-starred in the pilot of the crime procedural. Toplined by LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell, the show is set at the Office of Special Projects, a division of NCIS that is charged with apprehending dangerous and elusive criminals who pose a threat to the nation's security.

The switch is not a direct recasting; Hunt will play a new character, who oversees the "backroom" support staff tasked with providing everything from micro surveillance cameras to cars for Callen (O'Donnell) and his team. Efficient, hard-nosed and resourceful after years of being a Miss Fix-it in the film industry, she seems tough but genuinely cares about Callen and his team.

In the pilot, Lombard played an investigator who formerly was a major in the military police.

Hunt, who won an Oscar for "The Year of Living Dangerously," recently had a recurring role on "Without a Trace" and also co-starred on "Carnivale."

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)