NCIS: Hawaii and the 3 most disappointing (and dumb) cancellations CBS made this year

Cancellations are part of the television life cycle. Shows can’t go on forever and every show has to eventually come to an end. Sometimes this is in the form of a final season that gives the show time to bring its story to a natural conclusion, while others end without any resolution when the network pulls the plug on the show for one of countless reasons. 

Historically, the biggest causes of unexpected cancellations tend to be declines in a show’s performance in the ratings. Ratings are everything in the television industry as it’s hard to justify keeping shows around without audience interest. However, in today’s day and age, not even strong ratings are enough to keep hit series around – at least not on CBS that is. 

This season, CBS has made several – to be blunt – downright dumb decisions. There, I said it because quite frankly it needs to be said. This year, CBS has canceled some truly incredible shows for the most disappointing of reasons. These aren’t shows that are tanking in the ratings without passionate fans tuning in weekly to catch new episodes. 

Rather than betting on its existing series, CBS has decided that despite shows coming back strong they need to “keep the momentum going” by looking for a “cohesiveness of the schedule flow” in order to keep things fresh which means canceling strong performing shows just so that it can make room for new series that might not even resonate with audiences. 

CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach went as far as telling reporters, “All shows have to come to an end” and that “it’s important to us to refresh the schedule.” 

These empty excuses haven’t lessened the pain of losing some truly amazing shows that absolutely deserve to continue on beyond their present seasons. So let’s take a look at some of the series CBS did wrong.

NCIS: Hawaii

Let’s start with the cancellation that stings the most. NCIS: Hawaii has remained a strong performer once again for CBS this season and is the tenth most-watched series of the year for CBS, averaging 10.1 million viewers in 35 day viewing (linear and streaming) making it one of only 10 shows on the network that is pulling in more than 10 million viewers on average this season.

Despite its strong performance on the network, CBS decided to pull the plug on the show for what CBS is ultimately blaming on financials. In reality, CBS simply just doesn’t want more than three NCIS shows on its schedule and decided to bet on NCIS: Sydney and its new prequel series NCIS: Origins instead of bringing back NCIS: Hawaii for another season which is truly disappointing. 

NCIS: Hawaii brought much-needed representation to the forefront of the franchise giving us our first female lead as well as our first series regular LGBTQ+ characters, as well as the franchise’s first LGBTQ+ romantic pairing. This show had so much heart and meant so much to so many, and it’s a true shame that CBS couldn’t even give the show the respect it deserves by at least giving it a final season. 

Blue Bloods

Yes, Blue Bloods has been on the air for 14 seasons, but the show has shown no signs of slowing down and remains one of the most-watched shows on broadcast it’s still pulling in over 10 million viewers 14 seasons and routinely wins its Friday night timeslot. 

The show is just as strong and enjoyable as it was when it first debuted on CBS and the cast has made it quite clear to CBS that they aren’t ready to walk away from the show. Yet despite the pleas from the cast and the ratings being stronger than all but six shows on CBS, the network refuses to listen to its fans or cast. 

CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach blamed the show’s end on the need to keep the schedule refreshed, but that excuse is about as dumb as they come. Look around at the broadcast landscape and you’ll see some of the top-performing shows across the networks are shows that have been around for an extended period including CBS’s own NCIS, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, and NBC’s Law and Order franchise. 

To say that all shows need to end and that it’s important to refresh a schedule is a slap in the face of the fans who have been tuning in every Friday night for the last 14 years and to the cast who have poured their heart into making the show one of CBS’s biggest hits. If CBS can justify uncanceling SWAT which is performing worse in the ratings and is pushing 10 seasons, then we truly don’t understand why the network is so adamant about ending Blue Bloods. But hey, let’s see how strongly they feel about the decision when ratings inevitably fall on Friday night without Blue Bloods in the mix. 

CSI: Vegas

While CSI: Vegas is one of CBS’s lowest-rated series, its ratings have held strong in its third season and if the show was on any other network there would have been no talks of pulling the plug on the show, which we’re honestly shocked CBS did. 

The series is the latest in a rich franchise that has given CBS so many wins, and the fact is CSI: Vegas has succeeded without any real support from the network. The show gets virtually no promo from CBS, yet has still managed to continue to pull in an average of over six million viewers weekly airing late on Sunday. 

It features a diverse blend of characters and has been an amazing addition to the CSI franchise, which is why it’s so disappointing to see CBS pulling the plug after the show’s third season. There is no doubt that CSI: Vegas could have continued on for several years and it’s a shame that CBS wouldn’t even consider moving the show to Paramount+ as a way to continue its time on the air. After all, it’s not like Paramount+ couldn’t use a few more hits. 

So Help Me Todd

Finally, there is So Help Me Todd. Like CSI: Vegas, So Help Me Todd returned strong this season but not even an average of over 6 million viewers was good enough for CBS to continue the show. Again, it’s just disappointing that if this had been an ABC, NBC, or FOX show a renewal for So Help Me Todd would have likely been a no-brainer as the show outperforms many competitors. 

Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin are absolutely brilliant in the lead roles and their chemistry is magnetic! This show is hands down the funniest drama on air and we need more shows like this that break the bold and blend together drama and comedy. 

So Help Me Todd is an underrated gem that CBS never truly appreciated and it’s unfortunate that the show won’t even get a chance to live on elsewhere as it’s a CBS Studios production. But that apparently means nothing as every show on this list hails from CBS Studios who refused to shop the shows around and decided to end their time on air in the hopes of refreshing their schedule and finding new hits. 

Only time will tell if that plan works out, but it’s a true shame we’re losing so many amazing series because CBS cares more about refreshing its lineup with new shows than investing in the future of its proven hits.