NCIS: Hawai'i won't be returning for a fourth season at CBS, Deadline reported.

Days before the network's announcement of its fall schedule on May 3 and the show's season three finale on May 6, CBS announced that the NCIS franchise isn't going to be renewed for season four

The entertainment website's sources said that the series' 10th episode originally included a tease for what's to come. However, it's now going to be its finale but the hope is that fans won't be served a cliffhanger.

Hawai'i's cancellation isn't a complete surprise as it was previously reported that the show's future was in limbo. However, what is surprising is that despite the all the efforts expended by the show's producers to keep the well-performing series alive, including agreeing to a shortened fourth and final season, a massive budget cut and even other concessions, it wasn't enough to save Hawai'i.

NCIS Hawai'i not-so-surprising cancellation

The show is notable as it's the first in the NCIS franchise to have a female lead and a person of color in Vanessa Lachey. It is now the first show in the NCIS universe that won't get a proper farewell compared to the other series such as the original NCIS which has been renewed for its 22nd season, NCIS: Los Angeles (ran for 14 seasons) and NCIS: New Orleans (seven seasons).

Lachey plays NCIS Pearl Harbor Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant. She's joined by Alex Tarrant, Noah Mills, Yasmine Al-Bustami and Jason Antoon. Seasons one and two had 22 episodes each. The current and third season is shortened to just 10 episodes.

CBS Studios could still shop the action drama to other networks. However, there are no obvious buyers as Paramount+ already has two NCIS original series, Sydney as well as the planned Tony and Ziva spinoff.

CBS' parent Paramount Global's impending sale

Even though the series enjoyed an average 7.8 million linear viewers and 10 million in Live+35 multi-platform viewing, as well as benefiting from star power and continuity with LL Cool J in every episode since season two, the show's stats wasn't enough for CBS to keep it. The series became a casualty of the network's strong schedule, cost reduction efforts and the uncertainty of parent company Paramount Global's impending sale.

CBS has also already committed to five new series for the next season: Matlock, Watson, NCIS: Origins, Poppa's House and a Young Sheldon spinoff. Another NCIS franchise, Sydney, is also under negotiations for renewal.

If this had been 2023, Hawai'i would most likely have been renewed for a fourth season. There were plenty of reasons to do so since it's part of a very successful franchise, with solid ratings and several crossover opportunities. However, the network already has three other franchises in the NCIS universe: Sydney and the young Gibbs prequel, NCIS: Origins. Paramount+ also recently greenlit Tony and Ziva's spinoff show, which makes for quite a crowded field for the universe.

It really all comes down to money. Even with the producers agreeing to a massive budget cut, NCIS: Hawai'i is still going to cost a lot to produce. The network couldn't be sure whether it would go the way of its predecessors when it came to their successes. Paramount Global is more focused on short-term balance sheet to prepare for selling, so the company chose to cut the series loose.