Vanessa Lachey Opens Up About NCIS: Hawai’i Cancellation: ‘I Wish We Had a Proper Goodbye, I’m Sorry We Didn’t’
NCIS: Hawai’i team leader Vanessa Lachey has shared her deeper thoughts on the CBS drama’s cancellation after just three seasons.
Lachey, as Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant of the Pearl Harbor office, made history when the well-watched franchise’s third spinoff debuted in September 2021, playing the first female team leader.
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“Gutted, confused, blindsided,” Lachey offered soon after the cancellation news hit, via Instagram Story. “Grateful, confident, beloved fans.”
“Processing this news and still being present with my family,” added the mom of three, and wife of Nick Lachey. “I love you all! Maholo Nui Loa.”
Update: On May 1, having more fully processed the news, Lachey shared on Instagram a serene video of her seated by the ocean, at the same spot she filmed a scene in the pilot. “As I sat here today, knowing our show is over, I turned to [the ocean] again [asking] what do we do now,” she wrote. “She answered with ease. Just as the air hits the water & the water hits the land, the waves connect to the shore, some with a huge impact, then… it goes back out. You see… we aren’t meant to be here forever, we are on borrowed time. We appreciate what was given to us for our use, we nurture it and then we leave it better for the next dreamer.”
Lachey gave props to the show’s cast and crew, adding, “I wish we had more time, I’m sorry we don’t. I wish we had a proper good-bye, I’m sorry we didn’t. I know we ALL are connected deeper than any TV show.”
Part 2 of what will now be NCIS: Hawai’i’s series finale — filmed almost a month ago — airs Monday at 10/9c, on CBS.
Lachey’s co-star Noah Mills, who plays Jesse Boone on the CBS procedural, reacted, “It was soooo much damn fun while it lasted!” via an Instagram story. “I will miss so many and so much about making this show. Incredibly grateful for the memories and to the AMAZING people on the great island of Oahu Hawaii, I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to visit, live, play, work and grow in such a special place.”
Two of NCIS: Hawai’i‘s three creators weighed in on Friday evening, not long after the bad news broke.
“Four years ago, [Jan Nash], [Matt Bosack] and I started something very special. We joined with an incredible cast, amazing writers and crew… and gathered in Hawai’i to make a show,” wrote EP Chris Silber. “But ended up creating an ohana. I’m so grateful to you all.”
Co-creator Matt Bosack added: “[NCIS: Hawaii] was a dream. And while it’s ended, I am forever grateful to my partners, [Christopher Silber] and [Jan Nash], our amazing cast, led by [Vanessa Lachey], the entire crew, and this wonderful island I call home. I’m proud of the stories we were able to tell over these 3 seasons. To tell fun Navy crime mysteries but also dig into ideas about family, life, love, identity… To all the fans, especially those who saw themselves in these characters, mahalo nui loa. A hui hou.”
Cast members Tori Anderson and Jason Antoon, who play Kate and Ernie, also reacted to the cancellation.
2024 Renewal/Cancellation Scorecard!
There is no information regarding NCIS: Hawai’i being shopped elsewhere, TVLine hears.
Season-to-date, NCIS: Hawai’i is averaging 7.8 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating (with Live+7 playback data), up 4% in viewers vs. Season 2 but down a tick in the demo. Out of the 14 drama series that CBS has aired this TV season, it ranks No. 6 in total audience (behind Tracker, NCIS, FBI, Blue Bloods and The Equalizer) and eighth in the demo.
In the wake of the island drama’s end, the NCIS franchise will continue to expand via the “Young Gibbs” prequel NCIS: Origins, which has claimed a spot on CBS’ 2024-25 schedule, and a Tony/Ziva-centric offshoot that is bound for Paramount+.
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