Eric Beale has been largely absent from the NCIS: Los Angeles cast this season and that has been mostly by design.
Actor Barrett Foa, who has played the character of Eric Beale on the show since its first episode, has been working on projects outside of the CBS drama. That has led to him cutting back on the number of episodes in which he appears each season.
In the past, the writers have had Beale go on secret missions that explained his absence from the team. And earlier this season, Beale was classified as being on vacation while also attending a Tokyo trade show.
It was on NCIS: LA Season 12, Episode 6 that Eric Beale returned to the show. It was then revealed that the tech he had been working while undercover on a previous season had turned into a lucrative business for him.
Eric is now rich and able to work on any project that he chooses. The one he was putting his mind to when we last heard was dealing with homelessness and trying to figure out how to eradicate it.
What happened to Beale on NCIS: Los Angeles?
In his spare time, Eric now serves as a tech consultant to the NCIS office in Los Angeles. Every now and then, he pops up in an episode to help out his friends, but he is now largely a separate entity from the rest of the NCIS team. That has led to some interesting developments within the story of the show.
Is Eric Beale coming back to the NCIS: Los Angeles cast?
We do have some intriguing NCIS: Los Angeles spoilers about Eric and an upcoming episode of the show. Only read ahead if you don’t want to be surprised about what happens in a plotline to help wrap up Season 12.
According to a synopsis that has been revealed by CBS, Eric is going to have an important role within the season finale of NCIS: Los Angeles. The character is back and he has an interesting offer for Nell Jones. An intelligent guess about that could be that Eric wants Nell to come work with him on a new project, possibly related to the wealth he has attained. Or maybe Eric wants to return and work with Nell on a more consistent basis?
We have even more NCIS: LA spoilers about the season finale, but there are still two more new episodes to get through before Season 12 comes to a close.
The good news is that we are going to see Eric Beale back on the NCIS: Los Angeles cast before the end of the season and actor Barrett Foa will be back to share the screen with Renée Felice Smith (Nell Jones) again. It was a big treat to have the Eric and Nell team working together again on a recent tech case and that has been something fans have missed. Hopefully, we get more of that soon.
NCIS: Los Angeles airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on CBS.