NCIS: Hawai’i co-showrunners Jan Nash, Christopher Silber and Matt Bosack are ready to talk about the island drama’s unfortunate fate. It was on April 26 that TVLine reported that NCIS: Hawai’i, despite growing its audience in Season 3, would not be back for a fourth season. Very soon afterwards, the series’ cast members one by one weighed in on the cancellation, while Nash and Silber chose radio silence — “obviously surprised” as they were by CBS‘ decision.
In the world of TV dramas, some surprises are bigger than others. And when it comes to NCIS: Hawai’i, fans were left stunned by the shocking announcement in April that Season 4 wouldn’t be happening. The show that captured the hearts of viewers across the globe suddenly came to a screeching halt, leaving many asking, “What now?” The bosses behind NCIS: Hawai’i recently sat down and broke their silence on the heartbreaking news, with emotions running high.
So, what could have been in Season 4? Let’s dive deep into the untold story of this shocking decision and explore what could have been next for this fan-favorite show.
After all, NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3 had averaged 7.8 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating (with Live+7 playback data), up 4% in viewers vs. Season 2 (but down a tick in the demo). Out of the 14 drama series that CBS aired during the 2023-24 TV season, it ranked No. 6 in total audience (behind Tracker, NCIS, FBI, Blue Bloods and The Equalizer) and eighth in the demo. Explaining the cancellation decision back in May, CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said that NCIS: Hawai’i, amongst other ended shows, was a casualty of a drama slate that was simply too robust.
“We had to make some really tough choices this year,” she said. “Everything came back [from the Hollywood strikes] really strong, but ultimately we have to look at the cohesiveness of the schedule flow. We have to evaluate the financials and the performance overall, and we make tough decisions.”
Sources tell TVLine that while there were “talks” about finding another home for the series, that didn’t pan out.” Ending a three-month silence on the matter, NCIS: Hawai’i co-showrunners Nash, Silber and Bosack agreed to an exclusive, joint email Q&A with TVLine, seen below. We were obviously surprised. If we’d known it was coming, we probably wouldn’t have ended the series on a cliffhanger. The fact that the studio and the network didn’t stop us makes it seem like they might not have seen it coming either. We loved our show and know other people loved it, too, but the TV business is a fickle mistress and one can’t take business decisions personally. But it still stings. We did what we set out to do. We created a show with a strong female lead and a cast that reflected the diversity of Hawai’i and the world. We told interesting Navy crime stories. All while maintaining a workplace where people could hopefully do their best work and be valued for it. That gives us a lot to be proud of.
