While the NCIS universe is growing with the renewals of its flagship series and NCIS: Sydney and the announcements of the prequel NCIS: Origins and an exciting Tony and Ziva spinoff, sadly, one of its branches is closing shop. Yes, that’s right, after three seasons, NCIS: Hawai’i has been canceled. Now, its star, Vanessa Lachey, has posted her reaction to the news, admitting that she was “blindsided” by it.
Vanessa Lachey, who was the first female NCIS franchise lead, took to Instagram to share her thoughts on the heartbreaking news. Hawai’i is the latest show to be added to the 2024 list of TV cancellations, and the actress explained that she was “gutted, confused” and “blindsided” by the news. Take a look at the Jane Tennant actress’s post:
While it’s obvious that she is devastated by the news, she also posted about her gratitude for the show and its fans.
However, overall, she’s taking time to process all of this with her family.
On a similar note, Lachey’s co-star, Jason Antoon, who plays Ernie Malik, posted the sad news on Instagram, also noting that this choice “makes no sense.” His full caption read:
This business is brutal and makes no sense. But we had soooo much fun. Love you all and mahalo. 🤙🏽
I imagine that this is incredibly hard news to get, especially since there were reports about changes coming down the pipeline for the show if it wasn’t canceled. While NCIS: Hawai’i was on the bubble, and cancellation was possible, it was reported that the Vanessa Lachey-led show could have faced budget cuts and gotten a Season 4. However, CBS made the decision to end the show entirely.
You can catch the final new episodes of NCIS: Hawai’i on CBS on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET, and you can stream them the next day on Paramount+.
Considering all of this, and the fact that the NCIS franchise just celebrated its 1,000th episode, it is surprising to see the series end. However, when spring cancellations roll around, tough decisions are always made, and sadly a lot of shows end up on the chopping block.
Along with NCIS: Hawai’i, CBS has canceled CSI: Vegas, also after three seasons, and it axed its comedy So Help Me Todd after two installments. All these are tough shows to lose, and our hearts go out to those who work on them and the fans who watch.
In Hawai’i’s case, at least we’ll still have plenty of opportunities to be immersed in the NCIS world, and since we've seen crossovers before, maybe some of these characters could come back for an episode or two. Going into the fall 2024 TV schedule, we’ll be getting Season 22 of NCIS as well as a sophomore season of NCIS: Sydney. Plus, the new spinoffs coming up will allow us to spend more time with beloved characters like Gibbs, Zeva and Tony.
While it’s a genuine bummer that NCIS: Hawai’i was canceled, let’s cherish the three seasons we got. It will be hard to say our final alohas when the series finale airs later this spring. However, thankfully, we can always go back to the islands with Vanessa Lachey and her crew with a Paramount+ subscription.
