Months after its unintentional season 3 cliffhanger ending, NCIS: Hawai’i season 4’s scrapped story is revealed by showrunners Jan Nash, Christopher Silber, and Matt Bosack. Launched in 2021, the latest expansion series in the evolving NCIS universe introduced Vanessa Lachey’s Jane Tennant and her team who are based in Hawai’i. For three years, they worked on cases on the island, but occasionally, they would work with the Major Case Response Team. As with its parent series, NCIS: Hawai’i had become a beloved weekly show for many. So when it was unceremoniously cancelled, there was an immediate uproar.
Speaking with TV Line, Nash, Silber, and Bosack reveal what would have been the story for NCIS: Hawai’i season 4. For context, season 3’s send-off, which ended up being the series finale, wrapped up with Jane reuniting with Maggie Shaw. Unfortunately, before she can say the reason for her unexpected visit, the episode capped off. Read the showrunners’ full quote about what’s supposed to be next below:
While not fully fleshed out, we had a general idea of where the Maggie story was going. It would have eventually intersected with Jane Tennant’s mother, but it was also going to move back into the dark world of Tennant’s spy past, using those stories to increase our understanding of who Jane was, but also to learn more about her team in the process.
Can CBS Still Backtrack NCIS: Hawai’i’s Cancellation?
The spinoff’s cancellation came with CBS ending a few more shows on their roster last year. Specifically, they cited cost-cutting efforts and attempts at a better overall schedule as the main reasons for pulling the plug on the police procedural. The network has since then only doubled down on these, although subsequent details contradict them. For starters, NCIS: Hawai’i ranked as the 16th overall most-watched series during the 2023-2024 season, which made it a good investment for CBS. Instead, the show is being replaced with another NCIS spinoff in Mark Harmon’s Gibbs prequel, NCIS: Origins.
At this point, it’s difficult to be optimistic about the chances that NCIS: Hawai’i will be saved. The network has already set its fall 2024 schedule, and production on all the confirmed shows is currently ongoing. Despite this, the online petition for NCIS: Hawai’i to come back continues. One source of hope could be CBS’ own record when it comes to saving shows that they have previously cancelled. Shemar Moore’s SWAT was cancelled twice and also revived twice just in the last few months. If the movement to get NCIS: Hawai’i season 4 gets more traction, maybe CBS will renew the show.
Assuming that the online petition to bring back NCIS: Hawai’i succeeds, viewers will have to wait a while before it can return. It’s simply impossible for it to reclaim its old timeslot because NCIS: Origins has already taken it over. Despite this, a longer downtime would be better than not having NCIS: Hawai’i season 4 at all, leaving Jane’s cliffhanger fate unresolved.
