NCIS: Hawai’i’s controversial 2024 cancellation — and the end of Rescue HI-Surf after just one season — has left the island without any TV shows for the first time in more than 20 years.
Former Hawai’i star Jason Antoon revealed the heartbreaking result of the shuttered Honolulu studio one year after the CBS show was abruptly canceled, sharing a video of the site.
“Hawaii Film Studios — Empty and full of weeds. #NCISHawaii #MagnumPI #Hawaii50 #Lost 
,” Antoon, who played techie Ernie Malik on Hawai’i for all three seasons, captioned a clip via X on Friday, June 6.
In the video, fans can see the 7.5-acre Hawaii Film Studio lot vacant, with weeds growing wildly throughout the premises.
The now shuttered studio is located at the foot of the Diamond Head crater and hasn’t been in use since Us Weekly confirmed in April 2024 that NCIS: Hawai’i was ending with the season 3 finale that spring.
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The NCIS spinoff featured the first female-led team, run by Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey), on the island of Oahu.
“It is incumbent on us to always keep the schedule fresh, keep momentum going,” president of CBS Entertainment Amy Reisenbach said in May 2024, revealing that despite fan outrage, the network would not reverse its decision to shutter the series. “Everything came back [from the Hollywood strikes] really strong, but ultimately, we have to look at the cohesiveness of the schedule flow. We have to evaluate the financials and the performance overall, and we make tough decisions.”
Prior to its cancellation, Antoon, 53, exclusively told Us that it was the “coolest” thing to be part of the NCIS universe. “Just being part of that family and being part of television history, a little bit of it, so far beyond [cool],” he shared in April 2024. “Having a little percentage of that is being part of that history is pretty phenomenal. It’s pretty exciting and historic and to be a part of that, it’s so cool.”
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Antoon noted that the Hawai’i cast was “ohana,” meaning family, that not only kept the actors employed but helped the local economy.
“Hopefully we can get renewed and continue from our side, from the Hawaiian side. For the sake of keeping everybody employed here,” he told Us at the time. “All the crews that we work with, they shot Lost. They did Hawaii Five-O. They did Magnum [P.I.]. They do a lot of the movies that come out here and this being [filmed here] keep[s] those people employed. I mean, being outside of Los Angeles where I grew up and being in Hawaii, you just see the importance of what it is for our [show to stay] here.”
Despite fans’ best efforts to call for a cancellation reversal, NCIS: Hawai’i said goodbye in May 2024, following a long line of shows that have highlighted the Hawaiian landscape. The original Magnum P.I. starring Tom Selleck as well as its revival with Jay Hernandez both shot on Oahu in the ‘80s and the mid-2000s, respectively.
Hawaii Five-O, which aired from 1968 to 1980, was shot entirely on location and its revival Hawaii Five-0 followed suit from 2010 to 2020. Lost, which aired on ABC from 2004 to 2010, is one of the most iconic shows to call the islands home.
Following NCIS: Hawai’i’s cancellation, Fox filmed Rescue HI-Surf on the North Shore of Oahu, but it didn’t get picked up for a second season. The lifeguard-centered series ended in March.
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The end of Rescue HI-Surf marks the first time in over two decades that Hawaii isn’t home to at least one TV show. The governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, is hoping to remedy that situation by working toward keeping tax refund incentives in place for local productions.
Hawaii currently offers TV and film incentives by giving a 22 percent tax refund for Oahu productions and 27 percent for neighboring islands. While it is lower than the 30 percent or larger refunds offered in other U.S. locations and countries, it’s in jeopardy of being eliminated altogether.
Green, however, recently said he is planning to veto a bill that would “sunset” those tax credits after five years, according to TVLine. “This bill would have a significant long-term impact on income tax credits across a variety of industries, including film and television, research, and renewable energy,” Green’s office told the outlet, noting it would “disincentivize future investors from doing business in Hawai‘i.”
