LOS ANGELES — CBS says Academy Award-winning actress Linda Hunt is joining the cast of the new fall drama “NCIS: Los Angeles.”

The network said Friday that Hunt will play a tough, efficient department manager who gets government investigators the electronics and other crime-fighting tools they need.

“NCIS: Los Angeles” is a spinoff of the long-running CBS drama “NCIS.” The new show stars Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J as members of a Naval Criminal Investigative Service division that goes after criminals who pose a threat to national security.

Hunt won an Oscar for her role in 1982’s “The Year of Living Dangerously.” Her TV credits include “The Practice” and “Without a Trace.”