Three months after NCIS: Hawai’i was cancelled, showrunners Jan Nash, Christopher Silber, and Matt Bosack are speaking out about how they were “obviously surprised” by the show’s abrupt termination.
In a joint email Q&A with TVLine, the showrunners revealed that they would have finished the island spinoff’s third season differently if they had known the program would not return to CBS.
“If we’d known it was coming, we probably wouldn’t have ended the series on a cliffhanger,” they told me. “The fact that the studio and network didn’t stop us suggests that they may not have seen it coming either. We enjoyed our show and know other people did as well, but the TV business is a fickle mistress and one can’t take business decisions personally. But it still stings.”
Despite the surprise, the trio stated that they have “a lot to be proud of” from their experience working on the CBS serial, which starred Vanessa Lachey.
“We accomplished what we set out to. We produced a show with a strong female lead and a cast that represented the variety of Hawai’i and the world. “We told interesting Navy crime stories,” they explained. “All while maintaining a workplace where people could hopefully do their best work and be valued for it.”
As fans may recall, season 3 of NCIS: Hawai’i ended with Maggie (Julie White) advising Jane (Lachey), “Janie, you’re probably going to need a drink for what’s coming next” in the last minutes of the series finale.
According to Nash, Silber, and Bosack, the cliffhanger’s resolution was still “not fully fleshed out.”
“We had a general idea of where the Maggie story was going,” they explained. “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.”
The showrunners also expressed their excitement to continue telling stories on the show, saying, “We adored our cast of characters and would have used them as often as we could. We were discussing Tennant’s mother and Ernie’s ex-wife, but other than following up on our cliffhanger, there were no ‘ musts’ on the list.”
“Our goals every season were the same: tell good stories with these great actors,” he said.
In terms of specific plots, the trio hinted that more wedding discussions between Lucy Tara (Yasmine Al-Bustami) and Kate Whistler (Tori Anderson) were possible. “We hadn’t entirely decided what was going to happen in season 4. However, there would have been some movement. We weren’t sure if it would have been a wedding, meeting relatives, or something else.”
They also stated that they had always intended to have viewers meet Jesse’s (Noah Mills) wife and child.
“We started every season planning to meet her and she would have shown up eventually,” they joked. “(Hope springs eternal.)”
Following the show’s demise in April, Lachey, 43, pondered on the beloved series.
“I wish we had more time, and I am sorry we don’t. I wish we had a decent goodbye; I’m sorry we didn’t. “I know we are all more connected than any television show,” she wrote on Instagram. “I am willing to go to any length for my actors and crew! If you come across any of them, hire them! You will not be disappointed. “You are the salt of the earth!”
“In Hawai’i, we don’t say “Good-bye,” but rather ‘A Hui Hou’, which means ‘until we meet again’. To all, especially our devoted fans… “A Hui Hou,” she said.