'Major shift' may have affected renewal of 'NCIS: Hawai'i'

May 4—1/1

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COURTESY CBS

Despite good ratings, the last episode of CBS' "NCIS: Hawai'i" will be broadcast Monday. Gary Cole, left, LL Cool J, Vanessa Lachey and Noah Mills are part of the cast of the popular crime drama.

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As television fans were counting down the days to the official announcement of CBS Entertainment's fall 2024 season, a fourth season for "NCIS: Hawai'i" seemed like a slam dunk.

The show was a popular part of the "NCIS" franchise about the Navy's Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and it had been getting good ratings. Variety magazine reported that "Season 3 of 'NCIS: Hawai'i' opened to a strong 5.6 million average viewers on Feb. 12."

That wasn't enough to secure a spot for the fall season, and CBS dropped the hammer with the announcement April 26 that the series had been canceled. The final episode airs Monday.

"This was not the outcome we were hoping for," Sandi Ichihara-Abe, acting film manager at the Hawaii Film Office, said. "The Hawaii Film Office ohana is disappointed, of course. We have so much aloha for the cast, crew and all the producers that brought 'NCIS: Hawai'i' to Oahu."

Georja Skinner, chief officer of the Creative Industries Division in the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said several factors may have contributed to the show's demise.

"Due to the impacts of the strikes in 2023, coupled with the pandemic setbacks, the business is undergoing a major shift today," Skinner said. "Even great ratings may not win the day for renewal of series like 'NCIS: Hawai'i' or others on broadcast networks for multiple reasons."

CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach has squelched hopes that a campaign by the show's fans might save it. When asked in April whether there was a chance the cancellation could be reversed, as has occasionally happened in the past, Reisenbach said no.

Fans are wondering why the show cannot continue on Paramount+, even though other shows in the "NCIS" franchise have found homes there. Representatives of the streaming service did not respond to requests for comment.

Fans and media observers alike said "NCIS: Hawai'i" brought new ideas to the franchise and to network television in general. Casting Vanessa Lachey as Jane Tennant, special agent in charge of NCIS Pearl Harbor, had broken with the American television tradition of investigative units being headed by Caucasian males. Not only was the show's lead agent female, Lachey is of mixed race.

LGBTQ advocates also applauded the inclusion of a lesbian relationship in one of the series' plotlines.

Looking forward, Skinner said Hawaii's film and television industry remains alive and active despite the abrupt cancellation of the show.

"With the loss of 'NCIS: Hawai'i,' there are 10 various series productions throughout the islands — from prime-time series to reality series," Skinner said. "The trained and working crew and personnel of 'NCIS: Hawai'i' will look toward the current and future film and television project opportunities (for employment). We are in discussions with studios, networks and streamers on an ongoing basis. New projects slated for the summer and into the fall and end of the year are seeing a recent uptick, including two Hawaii features on the horizon."