NCIS: Origins has been a valiant effort to reinvent the NCIS franchise through the lens of a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but CBS’ poor handling of NCIS: Hawai’i could help explain the latest spinoff’s lower-than-expected performance in the ratings.
There was much enthusiasm for NCIS: Origins because it would bring Gibbs back to the franchise years after Mark Harmon walked away.
There’s no denying that Gibbs was the draw of NCIS for many years, and while the show has bounced back creatively in his absence, he’s still a missing piece of the puzzle.
There’s much to love about NCIS: Origins, with Austin Stowell convincingly portraying a much younger iteration of the beloved character and Kyle Schmid‘s tour de force performance as Mike Franks.
The series has been compelling and is up there as one of the best in the franchise, so why are viewers rejecting it?
NCIS: Origins Season 1 is currently averaging 3.9 million viewers and a 0.28 rating among adults 18-49, ranking 14th out of the 15 CBS scripted shows this season.
The show lifts to around 6 million viewers and a 0.41 rating with a week of DVR factored in, but the numbers are overall a big disappointment.
NCIS plays well internationally, so there’s every reason to believe that the prequel is racking up international sales because of the Gibbs connection alone, but the likely scenario is that CBS royally screwed up by canceling NCIS: Hawai’i after three seasons.
NCIS: Hawai’i Was A Hit For CBS
The Vanessa Lachey-fronted entry offered a sun-soaked setting, wonderfully written characters, and plots to sustain countless seasons.
The big kicker when the show got the pink slip was that it was highly rated and even increased year-to-year, which is an anomaly in today’s climate.
So, it seemed more like the network was sticking the middle finger up to the audience that watched it week in and week out.
The backlash to the cancellation was fast and furious, and many probably looked at NCIS: Origins as a replacement for NCIS: Hawai’i.
That’s a surefire way to alienate viewers, so the tepid numbers for NCIS: Origins aren’t too much of a shocker when you look at it from that perspective.
Too Many Cancelations at Once
It doesn’t help that the cancellation came hot on the heels of NCIS: LA favorite LL Cool J joining Hawai’i, not long after the Los Angeles-based spinoff was also canceled.
That was a recipe for disaster, no matter how you looked at it. They thrust a dagger into the hearts of two fanbases with one mighty swing.
The pain was even greater when people learned that NCIS: Sydney would be sticking around while Hawai’i got the boot.
There are many motivations behind these decisions, and Sydney offers an extra bang for the buck as it’s an automatic international sale with its Australian audience and production.
A Compromise Could Have Been Found
Still, CBS would have been wise to keep NCIS: Hawai’i around, even for a truncated Season 4.
Sharing the slot with NCIS: Origins for half of a season wouldn’t have been too awful of a compromise, but with Mark Harmon behind Origins, we can understand why it happened.
Still, both shows have so many fantastic storylines that it would have been a win-win scenario for the network to keep the whole NCIS franchise alive and well.
It wouldn’t have been as bad if CBS had shifted NCIS: Hawai’i to Paramount+ because then it would have been able to continue, even with a reduced episode order, like other CBS-turned-Paramount+ series, SEAL Team, Criminal Minds, and Evil.
Although it doesn’t hurt to mention two of those shows are now also canceled.
Where Does the NCIS Franchise Stand Now?
There’s no telling at this point whether NCIS: Origins Season 2 will happen, but Harmon has a lot of pull with CBS and could throw in a short-term return to NCIS to sweeten any deal.
NCIS hasn’t been renewed, so that would be an incredible deal all around. Not to mention, there may be opportunities across the board for crossover content, with NCIS: Tony & Ziva soon taking flight.
Considering the incredible fandom and the life left with the characters across the board, we would have expected even more NCIS on the schedule all over Paramount’s map.
As it stands now, we don’t even know if what is airing will be renewed.
What are your thoughts on the NCIS: Origins ratings? Do you they are linked to the NCIS: Hawai’i cancellation?
Do you think NCIS: Origins could have been more successful if the network treated NCIS: Hawai’i better?
Share your thoughts about all things NCIS in the comments below!
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