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Why is NCIS: Hawaii canceled after three seasons?

CBS made a bad call in canceling NCIS: Hawaii after three seasons. It wasn't to do with the linear views. Here's why the show was canceled, and why we need more of it.

By Alexandria Ingham

“Dies Irae” – When a figure from Tennant’s CIA past reemerges, the NCIS team seeks help from the most unlikely place in order to catch a killer who threatens to destroy everything Tennant has built, on the conclusion to the two-part second season finale of the CBS Original series NCIS: HAWAI’I, Monday, May 22 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. Pictured: Yasmine Al-Bustami as Lucy Tara and Alex Tarrant as Kai Holman.
“Dies Irae” – When a figure from Tennant’s CIA past reemerges, the NCIS team seeks help from the most unlikely place in order to catch a killer who threatens to destroy everything Tennant has built, on the conclusion to the two-part second season finale of the CBS Original series NCIS: HAWAI’I, Monday, May 22 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. Pictured: Yasmine Al-Bustami as Lucy Tara and Alex Tarrant as Kai Holman. /
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It was bad news in April about NCIS: Hawaii. The series has been canceled after three excellent seasons.

We all know that this was a bad call by CBS. It takes a well-written series off the air. On top of that, it takes a series full of inclusivity off broadcast. This is yet another show canceled with a lesbian ship that the majority of people want to see succeed.

Of course, the networks are a business. We know that a show needs to be viable on the air to be renewed, and it looked like this one was. The linear ratings aren’t the best, but they are still good. And shows with lower ratings were renewed by CBS and other networks.

So, what’s the deal? Why was NCIS: Hawaii canceled so abruptly?

NCIS: Hawaii’s cancellation comes down to behind the scenes issues with the parent company

Its rare for a network to get rid of the Top 10 shows on the network. Deadline goes as far to say the Top 12. And NCIS: Hawaii fit comfortably in that, so yes, it was a huge shock to see that it was canceled.

There were talks of budget cuts for the series. There were even talks of renewing it for a fourth and final season, which would have been reduced in episode count compared to the usual 22-episode season. Those would have been disappointing decisions but acceptable ones as a fan of the series. I don’t mind a show coming to an end if it’s for an understandable reason and if it gains closure. This show is gaining neither.

The cancellation all comes down to the parent company Paramount Global, which is in the midst of being sold. With so much uncertainty, CBS didn’t want to renew the series only for something to happen behind the scenes that it couldn’t control.

There is also the issue of the network having a lot of other content. There are three new dramas arriving in the 2024–2025 season, which means little space in the schedule. One of those dramas is the NCIS prequel about a Young Gibbs. Then there’s the fact that SWAT was un-canceled in a surprise move just before the cancellations of So Help Me Todd and CSI: Vegas. CBS had to make a difficult (albeit wrong) decision about NCIS: Hawaii.

Really, it all comes down to money. NCIS: Hawaii isn’t the strong performer that the flagship series is. It’s not even up there with what NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans were like when they began. With fears of dropping linear ratings (especially if it moved nights to put NCIS: Origins on after the flagship series), CBS didn’t want to take the risk on an already expensive series.

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