‘NCIS’: Rocky Carroll on ‘Hawai’i’ Cancellation & Franchise Future — Could He Appear on Tiva Spinoff?
The NCIS franchise continues to expand—but not every show can last nearly as long as the mothership. Hawai’i, currently in its third season, will be ending with the May 6 episode.
“I was shocked” by the news of its cancellation, NCIS star Rocky Carroll tells TV Insider. “Less than two weeks ago, I was doing a talk show with Vanessa Lachey and LL COOL J. We were all sitting around celebrating being a part of the NCIS universe. You never know what the motivating factors are, but I’m hoping that those characters, because we still have the mothership as we call it, we still have NCIS: Sydney, and who knows, those characters may turn up. I mean, LL COOL J’s character came from Los Angeles and was in Hawai’i. So who’s to say that Vanessa Lachey’s character wouldn’t show up somewhere in the NCIS universe again?”
There are at least two more series coming, the Origins prequel about a younger Gibbs (played by Austin Stowell, with Mark Harmon narrating) and Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo reprising their roles of Tony and Ziva in an untitled spinoff. “I’m thrilled about [the expansion], and I think it’s a real testament to the staying power and the commitment of CBS Paramount to have this show be sort of the staple that we now have a brand that’s expanding,” Carroll says. “It’s like the Marvel universe now. New audiences, new generations of audiences can now have their show that they can say, ‘Yeah, I’ve been with it since season one,’ like the diehards from NCIS who are 22 years in now.”
With Carroll playing the director of the agency, while neither Tony nor Ziva remains with NCIS, it would be quite easy for him to appear in a video check-in, right? “It’s funny you should mention it. I just did a podcast with Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo, and we had a chat about that, and I said, ‘Who knows? Sometimes the director may need to come in and check in on you kids because you’re on the other side of the world here,'” shares Carroll. “That would be kind of fun. Video check-in would be nice. I’d like to see their faces when Vance just walks into the room.”
But is there a spinoff he’d like to see in the franchise? He points out that there are divisions of the agency that have been introduced, like the REACT team. “The thing that made NCIS so interesting to begin with is [creator] Don Bellisario picked a federal agency that most people had no idea what NCIS stood for or what it was,” Carroll notes. “There’s all these other parts of this federal agency that you could focus on as opposed to just NCIS: Costa Rica—which wouldn’t be bad. I wouldn’t mind having Vance’s retirement job being a director in a small office in Costa Rica somewhere.”
Not every attempt at a spinoff has been a success; Los Angeles Season 4 introduced Red, the mobile unit, but that wasn’t ordered to series. “There’s never any guarantee,” according to Carroll. “But the universe has this solid footing now that you can take a chance, take a leap of faith, and say, ‘Well, let’s try it and see what happens.’ You know that the universe is still going to be safe, still going to exist.”
After all, NCIS is still going, even three seasons after its lead, Mark Harmon, exited. “There were star-driven shows in the ’70s and the ’80s. It was the name above the title and then the show.” Carroll recalls. “But now what CBS had done—and Harmon was a big factor in this, too, he always wanted the agency to be the star of the show. And CBS has been successful with other shows like CSI; once Billy Petersen left CSI, people thought, ‘Well, he was the main character behind it,’ but the show still had life after that. Because it was about the agency. And I think that’s one of the things that CBS does pretty much better than anybody else.”
What do you think of the state of the NCIS franchise right now? Let us know in the comments section, below.
NCIS, Season 21 Finale, Monday, May 6, 9/8c, CBS
Conversation70 Comments
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Comments are closed on this story.
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I am very disappointed that Hawaii has been cancelled. Send Sydney packing and keep Hawaii!
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Agree! Sydney absolutely sucks…..love NCIS Hawaii’s characters
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Love NCIS Hawaii and agree Sydney needs to go! What is CBS thinking??
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NCIS Sydney is an absolute train wreck. And the characters have all the chemistry of sardine and banana cookies.
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I agree about Sydney. I watched it, but just couldn't get enthused about the characters or their relationships with each other with 1 exception - the tech girl. I liked her.
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I don’t need the Origins show about Gibbs. Bring back @NCIS Hawaii! Boo CBS
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Unfortunately that's not how television works. I wish networks would always do just what I wanted as well, because then none of my favorite shows over the last 50 years would have been cancelled and none of those shows I wasn't interested in would have aired. CBS handled this cancellation in the worst way possible, and I think fans can and should express their displeasure at the cancellation, but please don't dump on other shows who have nothing to do with said cancellation
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Except they do. The network ran out of prime time real estate, and so Hawaii, So Help Me Todd, and CSI Vegas were all canceled to make way for new shows, including Sydney and Origins.
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Their getting Money Crazy and that's what they're worried more about now than anything else. At least we got SWAT for another season but now they got rid of Luca and Street because they thought it was going to cancelled. Enough is enough and their cancelling So Help Me Todd and CSI VEGAS they need to stay as well, remember Simon and Simon, they were cancelled and replaced by a show with Sam Waterson of Law and Order and it came back during the summer and renewed let's go with that plan and hope it works when the other new shows fall. Hope and Pray
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Cancelling NCIS Hawaii is such a wrong move. I hope that some of these people show up on other NCIS series. They are wonderful. Sad to see it end.
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I love NCIS Hawaii and ALL the characters there's so much more you could do with the show. I'm so sad it's being canceled wish CBS would reconsider
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CSI didn’t survive in our home after Peterson left.
Loved the addition of LLCool J in the Hawaii series and looked forward to him being part of their story.
I sincerely hope CBS retracts their cancellation of the great Hawaii version.
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Bring back Hawaii
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I think it's terrible that they canceled NCIS HAWAII!
There is so much value in watching the stories about Hawaii.
The actors are great.
There are many others shows they could cancel to make their budget cuts
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I agree. Not interested on Australia. Miss New Orleans, but thought LA got old toward the end. Hawaii has been great, I can't believe they dropped it. Poor decision.
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I never looked at NCIS Sydney and I think Hawaii have gotten too expensive to film 🎥 a weekly series and it's not just Magnum and the networks changing during the 40+years since the original series, it just got too expensive and NYC gives tax breaks for film makers something Hawaii should have done years ago
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I did not care for DiNozzo on NCIS and am not at all interested in a show with him and
Ziva!!! I also don't care about watching the evolution of Gibbs!!!!! Enough is enough. Keep NCIS Hawaii!!!
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I honestly don't care one way or the other about NCIS Hawaii, but I definitely agree with your first three sentences.
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I think DiNozzo and Ziva were a very big part of the original NCIS, hope their new show works out very well for them.
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I think to cancel Hawaii is a mistake. It is an interesting part of our country and the characters were unique as are all NCIS characters. Just keep the flow of NCISes going one hour to the next. Manipulate the budgets and keep what is working!!
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I hope someone picks this show up and returns it to the small screen. It was just getting interesting.
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Awful news,really like the show but more important seeing the beauty of Hawaiian islands which I have visited many times. Uncancel NCIS Hawaii or some other station pick it up would be nice.
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Canceling NCIS Hawaii is so short sighted on CBS ‘s part! The show has a great cast, great location, and has been popular with the viewers. CBS needs to reinstate NCIS Hawaii!!
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I am very disappointed about NCIS Hawaii being cancelled.
The story lines were great
The cast was amazing
I think the network made a bad judgement call
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Keep NCIS HAWAII!!! Love those characters. CBS messed up. Sydney should be cancelled. I hope Tony and Ziva have a good show and it's not about Russia all the time.
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I think that it was a big mistake to cancel Hawaii. Great characters. Thought it was much better than Sidney. Bring it back!!!
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They should keep it ncis hawaii it is really good and there's the story of the unfinished business with tennents mum I want to know what happen and the team are growing as a family like ncis there is so much more that can be done with this series please reconsider
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I think CBS is terrible the way cancel shows that actually appeal to people. It’s the usual a female lead doesn’t work for certain people. I refrain from stating the obvious. The same reason Magnum PI was cancelled again the problem was the lead character. We all the folks in charge have to please certain people.
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I am disappointed that CBS is discontinuing NCIS Hawaii. This is a great show.
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BIG mistake canceling this show. There are so many others that should be gone (including talk shows)!
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They cancel NCIS Hawaii, and thay cancel Blue Bloods…….think I may just cancel CBS.
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It is so sad that they cancel great shows like NCIS:Hawaii. I don't particularly like reality shows, but it is seems like we are getting more and more of them. Don't writers have imaginations anymore?
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Very disappointed that Hawaii is being discontinued. Not too many shows with strong female leads on TV today.
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Very angry NCIS HAWAII being canceled. First LA, Sydney and now Hawaii. I may just cancel watching everything i am so upset with CBS!! #BOYCOTT maybe Netflix will pick them up!
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I am so angry that NCIS: Hawaii is being cancelled by CBS!🤬 I feel the same about CSI: Las Vegas. 🤬 Then they go and add another reality show called Summit? I hate ALL those mindless, worthless, competition reality shows!🤬 CBS used to have a lot of great scripted, procedural shows. Now they're throwing all these contest shows in our face. I don't watch any of them. I've watched NCIS since the very beginning. I also watched all the seasons of JAG, from which NCIS came to be. CBS, I'm really disappointed in you.
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Why is it when a really neat show is on it gets cancelled after a few seasons. Really liked NCIS Hawaii.
The stories were interesting and loved seeing Hawaii for the backdrop. Loved all the characters.
Can't stand reality shows, too much drama from a bunch of babies. These shows are like watching a novel
come to life. Good luck NCIS Hawaii, we'll be looking for you in other shows, CBS's lose.
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Canceling NCIS Hawaii is a TERRIBLE decision. I am so disappointed that I refuse to watch the new NCIS Origins. Who cares how it all started when currect characters are being cut off at the knees.😡😡
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I really enjoyed Hawaii. It took a while to get used to the female lead...but she has done a good job getting everyone on board! I have struggled with Sydney...wish that one would have been the one chopped and not Hawaii!
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I think NCIS SYDNEY SHOULD BE CANCELED AND NCIS HAWAII STAY.
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Terrible decision! bring back NCIS Hawaii
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First it was New Orleans and now Hawaii, what a mistake CBS. I watch everyone of them and enjoyed it all. Please put those characters in other shows.
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Keep NCIS Hawaii! Please love it!
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I am very disappointed to see NCIS Hawaii being cancelled. I love this show
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I don't know what's going on with CBS!!!! 🤬 SWAT, Blue Bloods cancelled???? I know they changed their mind about SWAT, but I'm still pissed about NCIS Los Angeles. It was my favorite. And....... They should have kept Hawaii and dropped Sydney. I found it to be be very stiff with no personality. I tried the second episode and turned it off. WAKE UP CBS!!! YOU'RE REALLY SCREWING UP!!!!!
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I think canceling ncs Los Angeles was a mistake and I feel the same way about Hawaii. You always get rid of the best ones why not ask your audience what they would like
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I love NCIS ,I have watched it from the beginning but I’m not happy about NCIS Hawaii finishing and C B S needs their head read fancy finishing Blue Bloods another great series that I always watch
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I never got into any of the other NCIS franchises, but my obsession with Hawaii coupled with my adoration for Vanessa Lachay are the reasons why I love NCIS: Hawaii and am very sad and upset for the decision to cancel it after such a short run. Maybe Netflix will pick it up like it did for Manifest?
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I want to see a series with LLCool as the lead. He is an excellent actor and very versatile. It would be great to have an NCIS Atlanta with L L Cool as the lead and bring in some of the past agents from the series.
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Sorry to see NCIS Hawaii go. I've watched every episode of all of the series, except that I stopped watching L.A. after what I thought was an unnecessarily brutal murder of Sam's wife. I thought the series was getting too misogynistic - too many female characters killed off. But back to Hawaii. I enjoyed the character development, the scenery (we love Hawaii), and the actors. But after the strike, the series went downhill - very amateurish writing (awful), unbelievable stories, and Sam's addition simply killed the cast chemistry. So sorry to see it go, but unfortunately (very unfortunately) not surprised.
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We visited so many of the locations that NCIS Hawaii was filmed at, and we get to see them on TV now. Cancelling this show is a heartbreak for us as we love the characters and the location.
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I'm upset that most of the ncis have been canceled.
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Omg they're canceling so help me Todd!!! they keep canceling the ones that have some humor in them.... they always end up canceling the ones I like!! All the reality shows are terrible!! Life is hard enough without watching people do stupid stuff and people enjoying watching people get hurt that's just WRONG!
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ABSOLUTELY AGREE 💯 %
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I think it is a real shame that CBS would cancel NCIS Hawai’i, a very popular and well watched show with a fantastic ensemble cast, as is the case with most of the NCIS shows. It is a true shame that they can’t find a better way to save money. Any more than CSI Vegas being replaced by yet another reality show which I won’t watch. TV is entertainment for me but I guess that what the fans really want doesn’t matter to the execs.
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I'm sad that another location show has been canceled. I wish they'd take LA, NOLA and Hawai'i and rotate them rather than bring in other shows. It's a shame to kill these great shows with such diverse casts.
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Keep NCIS: Hawaii & cancel SWAT!! SWAT is the worst police show ever!
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Sad state of affairs!! I'm loosing my NCIS partner. The wife love the Hawaii show! A female lead roll gave her somthing to watch that she had gotten into. CBS you screwed the pooch with this decision!!!
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So upset that beautiful NCIS Hawaii, USA, was cancelled and Sydney was renewed. Why wouldn't we as Americans care more about watching beautiful and historical Hawaii, USA, rather than a foreign country? Not me.
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Can't say I'm surprised. About hawaii cancelation and I don't expect Sydney to last long either.ivv been watching the original since the beginning and I loved it and the la one too but those two new ones didn't have it.
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Love NCis Hawaii this one should stay. The one that needs to be canceled is NCIS Sydney. Characters are boring and just don't fit the show. Please leave Hawaii.
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I think they should keep Hawaii and can Sydney 🤷♀️
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I've watched NCIS since the beginning and love the show still. My other favorites were Los Angeles and New Orleans so I was disappointed when they were canceled. I'm not a big fan of Hawaii or Sydney. But I'll always continue watching NCIS 'mothership'.
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Big mistake CBS......not my favorite channel anymore. Bring back Hawaii, Todd and Abashola pretty please!!!!!
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Losing Sam and Hawaii and Sam in Hawaii. This totally sucks. That's aside from the whole diversity issue.
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Cancel Sydney and keep NCIS Hawaii. What are you thinking CBS?
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I'm not sure why NCIS Hawaii would be eliminated yet the hard to follow Sydney is left intact. What about the truly spectacular CSI Vegas? Great throwback to the classy CSI standard with incredible acting and solid story lines. What's sad is that with previews of new shows, I see nothing that interests me and seem to represent caricatures of real relatable people. If that's the plan guess I will look elsewhere for entertainment.
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Love Hawaii, but the addition of LLCool J ruined it for me. Never liked Los Angeles.
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I'm extremely upset about the cancellation of Hawaii!! I love the show and it's unique verse of characters! I can't believe that CBS chose to continue with NCIS Sydney vs Hawaii. I will NOT continue watching "Sydney" as I don't care for the characters and I find it incredibly difficult to understand due to the accents. I can't support a show that I miss over half of the dialogue and therefore can't follow along with the details. Horrible horrible mistake on the part of CBS for taking the heart of the loyal viewers of "Hawaii" and crushing us as though we don't matter!! Shame on you!!!
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Keep NCIS Hawaii. It’s a great show with great actors. Cancel NCIS Sydney. I tried to watch Sydney when it came out, but it did not catch my interest.
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Bummer! Why would you plow-under a young, decent show with a great cast, good location and appealing storylines to create Sydney, Tony & Ziva, and Origins when fans are already so invested. NCIS has been on 20 + years, but this very appealing show gets a couple of seasons only. Boo CBS, boo Mark Harmon. Very cavalier. Very thoughtless.
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