Like what happened with the long-running CBS shows Blue Bloods and S.W.A.T., for which the show’s cast and crew made meaningful sacrifices to avoid cancelation, the producers and stars of NCIS: Hawai’i agreed to sizable budgetary cuts and other concessions to allow the show to at least survive through a fourth and presumably final season. The television landscape can be as turbulent as a Hawaiian tide — just ask the cast and crew of NCIS: Hawai’i. Despite being part of a powerhouse franchise, NCIS: Hawai’i found itself teetering on the brink of cancelation. Curious how a show with such a loyal fanbase nearly got the axe? Let’s dive into the drama, the data, and the decisions that kept this island-based series on the bubble.
The cancelation of NCIS: Hawai’i, which was a top 20-rated show throughout its run, owes partially to the sheer strength of the CBS schedule, in which the network has struggled to accommodate a glut of quality shows. The cancelation announcement for NCIS: Hawai’i followed the cancelation of CSI: Vegas and So Help Me Todd, both of which were top 25-rated shows. In addition to being a casualty of a historically strong schedule, for which CBS has committed to airing five new series for next season, NCIS: Hawai’i also fell victim to a cost-cutting drive by CBS and parent company Paramount Global, in advance of a potential sale of the company. This created an environment in which CBS was willing to cancel a show that any other network almost certainly would have been happy to renew.
The NCIS Franchise Is Overcrowded Just five years ago, it seemed as if audience demand for the franchise, in which NCIS and the spin-off shows NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans all aired alongside one another on the CBS prime-time schedule for several years, was inexhaustible. However, the cancelation of NCIS: Hawai’i, following the demise of Los Angeles and New Orleans, and the tenuous presence of NCIS: Sydney proves that the franchise has become over-saturated, to the point that the shows have begun to cannibalize one another in terms of viewership.
Indeed, as NCIS: Hawai’i was canceled partly to make room for a slate of new shows on CBS, including the upcoming prequel series, the recent renewal of NCIS: Sydney also made the exotic-looking Hawaiian series seem redundant on the network’s schedule. Moreover, NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney will eventually be joined by the recently announced Tony & Ziva spin-off series, which will reunite beloved characters Tony DiNozzo and Ziva Davis, played by Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo.
Like a true island survivor, NCIS: Hawai’i weathered the cancelation storm. But survival doesn’t mean safety. If anything, the bubble scare was a wake-up call for the creators, the fans, and the network. The lesson? Stay vocal, stay involved, and never assume your favorite show is untouchable.
