What NCIS’ 2 Upcoming Season Finales Mean For The Franchise After Hawai’i’s Disappointing Cancelation

As the NCIS season comes to a close, two major finale events will have a big impact after the cancelation of NCIS: Hawai’i. It’s been an epic season for the NCIS universe, with the flagship series featuring the NCIS 1000th Episode across all of its shows and a tribute episode to David McCallum’s Donald Mallard, one of the longest-running characters in the franchise’s history. With the flagship NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i airing limited seasons due to the 2023 Writer’s Guild of America strike, the nine episodes of each season so far have packed a lot in.

NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i, which have been airing back-to-back, are to set to end their seasons on the same night. NCIS: Hawai’i will air its third and final season finale, whereas NCIS will air the finale of its historic season 21. There have been shocking updates for the future of the NCIS universe, with some spinoffs on the way and others being canceled. The season finales have enormous implications now that CBS has made its final decisions regarding which series it will pull the plug on and which it will keep.

NCIS Season 21 And NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3 Finales To Air Monday, May 6

The Flagship Series And Its Hawai’i Spinoff Will Air Back-To-Back Finales On Monday Night

The finale of NCIS season 21 will air at 9 pm ET, and the second part of the season 3 finale of NCIS: Hawai’i will follow at 10. The finale for both seasons is highly anticipated, especially since both shows have experienced shortened seasons with only 10 episodes each, compared to the 20 or more episodes that NCIS shows usually put out in a season. NCIS season finales typically have significant implications for the franchise moving forward, and the upcoming finales will be no exception, with anticipated shifts in the NCIS universe.

NCIS spinoffs have been making headlines, thanks in large part to the addition of two new expansion shows and the cancelation of NCIS: Hawai’i. The franchise has introduced NCIS: Origins to its lineup, which will expand on central NCIS character Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), focusing on his earlier years and the start of his career at NCIS. The other spinoff will focus on Tony and Ziva, two main characters and core MCRT members from the mothership. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, it appears that CBS is adjusting its roster to focus more on the flagship series, potentially finding needed security in core NCIS characters.

NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3 Finale Will Now Be The Series Finale After Disappointing Show Cancelation

The Abrupt End To NCIS: Hawai’i Will Impact The Entire NCISverse

The NCIS: Hawai’i season 3 finale has big implications for the NCIS universe now that the show has been canceled and will not return for a fourth season. The most significant implication is that the season 3 finale will now serve as the series finale, with storylines and characters ending abruptly unless they are revived in a different NCIS show. Considering the cancelation seems to have blindsided the cast of NCIS: Hawai’i, it’s unlikely that storylines will be resolved in a way that completes the series unless the finale was created to potentially serve that purpose.

The fallout of the cancelation has seen reactions from NCIS: Hawai’i cast members. It’s likely that as well as the characters not having a proper sendoff, the cancelation of NCIS: Hawai’i means that its cast members will lack a proper goodbye. What unfolds in the season 3 finale will likely impact the franchise as a whole, since its remaining offices won’t have the same sense of connection with its Pearl Harbor office in the future. However, it’s at least possible that the franchise finds room for the NCIS: Hawai’i characters eventually.

NCIS Season 21 Finale Will Set Up Confirmed Season 22 (And Maybe The Tony & Ziva Spinoff)

The Season Finale Of The Mothership NCIS Will Be A Major Event

The flagship series will also conclude its current season on Monday, May 6, airing the final episode of season 21. Despite its limited number of episodes, the current season of NCIS has had some iconic moments and has signaled upcoming transitions in the NCIS universe. Now that CBS has officially renewed the mothership for NCIS season 22, anything that plays out in the season finale will impact what’s to come in the next season. The season finale is especially anticipated now that season 21 has set up a few plot twists that would benefit from further resolution.

Adding to the anticipation for the NCIS season 21 finale are several potential guest appearances that NCIS stars have teased. After Michael Weatherly’s appearance in the Ducky Tribute Episode, he signaled in an interview that Cote de Pablo’s Ziva David would also be returning to NCIS, which is yet to happen. Likewise, Alden Parker actor Gary Cole teased in an interview with TV Insider that the NCIS season finale will stir up “big trouble” requiring “everybody on board,” signaling potential guest appearances in the season 21 finale.

The NCIS finale episodes slated for Monday night could take the NCIS universe in a couple of different directions. Still, some of the biggest changes in the franchise have already happened with the cancelation of NCIS Hawai’i. While the NCIS season 21 finale may be setting up the NCISverse for its upcoming spinoffs, the NCIS: Hawai’i season 3 finale will set up the show’s end. Whatever direction the series could have gone in season 4, the story will now be cut short, but the characters will hopefully have storylines elsewhere in the franchise, as did LL Cool J’s Sam Hanna.

Source: TV Insider