NCIS: Hawai’i is a CBS crime drama and the fourth spinoff in the NCIS franchise. The Hawaiian island-based series follows Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey) — the first female NCIS lead —and her team of special agents from Hawaii’s Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Her team is responsible for investigating incidents relating to military and national security. The cast also features Alex Tarrant, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Tori Anderson, Noah Mills, Jason Antoon, and Kian Talan.
On April 26, Variety reported that NCIS: Hawai’i was ending after Season 3. The season finale, slated to air on May 6, 2024, will now be the series finale. Hawai’i is the third NCIS series to get the axe in recent years. NCIS: New Orleans and NCIS: Los Angeles ended in the last few years after seven and 14 seasons, respectively. In this latest season, NCIS: Los Angeles star LL Cool J even reprised his role as Sam Hanna in Hawai’i after his show ended last year. So, what happened and why was NCIS: Hawai’i canceled after three seasons? Here’s what to know.
Why was NCIS: Hawai’i canceled by CBS? Why was NCIS: Hawai’i canceled by CBS? CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach told Variety after the news that NCIS: Hawai’i due to the network’s stronger evaluation of its content and finances after the Writer’s Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes. “It is incumbent on us to always keep the schedule fresh, keep momentum going. We had to make some really tough choices this year,” Reisenbach 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.”
Reisenbach also confirmed that there is no chance of an “un-cancellation,” as S.W.A.T. previously received twice, and TVLine also confirmed that NCIS: Hawai’i isn’t being shopped at other networks. According to Deadline, the show also became “a casualty of a strong schedule, a cost-management drive, and overall uncertainty at the parent company Paramount Global, which is in the process of being sold.” In summary, making NCIS: Hawai’i was going to be expensive, and it was likely not worth the network’s time at this moment given CBS’ investments in new NCIS shows.
Our sister site notes that, while last year, a renewal for Hawai’i would’ve been a no-brainer, CBS has three other NCIS series slated for next season, including the second season of NCIS: Sydney, the Young Gibbs prequel NCIS: Origins and the new Tony & Ziva NCIS spinoff series on Paramount+. In addition to expanding the NCIS franchise, CBS also has committed to new scripted series for next season following the Hollywood strikes, including Matlock, Watson, NCIS: Origins, Poppa’s House, and a Young Sheldon spinoff. Hawaii Five-0, which also filmed in Hawaii and aired on CBS, was also canceled by the network in 2020 after 10 seasons. Many suspect that the series was also canceled due to the high cost of filming in Hawaii, which may have had an effect to NCIS: Hawai’i‘s run as well.
