Why CBS Canceled NCIS: New Orleans

The “NCIS” franchise is amongst the most successful in the history of television. The flagship show is still going today after 22 seasons and is rapidly approaching 500 episodes. Created by Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill, it’s rivaled only by the monster that is “Law & Order” as far as long-running prime time shows go. More than the show itself, “NCIS” is the gift that keeps on giving as it has spawned several very successful spin-offs, most notably “NCIS: New Orleans.” That series, which premiered in 2014, had a stellar run that anyone who creates a show could only dream of. Still, even very good things must come to an end. But why did this beloved show have to end?

“NCIS: New Orleans” ended its seven-season run in May 2021 after CBS decided to cancel the crime drama set in the Big Easy. The network decided to cancel the show as filming on season 7 was underway, which meant that the creators were able to give Agent Dwayne Pride and the gang a proper send-off. Per TVInsider, the cast and crew were alerted to the decision in February 2021. Though they were able to adjust and give the show a proper ending, that didn’t make it any less painful. As executive producer Jan Nash put it at the time:

“It was painful, but it was a blessing to have enough time to make adjustments and a finale that feels very true to New Orleans.”

All told, the show ran for seven seasons and 155 episodes, which is a mark few shows (let alone spin-offs) will ever touch. That’s getting into “Star Trek: The Next Generation” territory. Still, fans at the time wondered why CBS was letting the show go. “I don’t understand why NCIS New Orleans was canceled,” one fan asked on Twitter as the series finale approached. Another pleaded directly with lead star Scott Bakula saying, “I don’t know how to save NCIS New Orleans but I don’t want the show to ever end! I don’t want NCIS New Orleans to be canceled!”

The hashtag #SaveNCISNewOrleans also gained some traction on social media around the time “NCIS: New Orleans” was ending, but it wasn’t enough. The show aired its final episode, entitled “Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler,” on May 23, 2021. 

So why did CBS cancel the show? The answer is surprisingly simple. “NCIS: New Orleans” suffered a pretty serious ratings decline across its seven-year run. The series premiered in 2014 when network television was still a bigger player in the media landscape. In the years since, streaming has taken a larger bite of the viewership pie, with Netflix serving as the reigning king of the hill.

To illustrate just how dramatic the change was over time, the show’s first season averaged more than 15 million viewers, according to Nielsen. By season 6, that number dropped to 6.3 million viewers. The steep decline continued in season 7, when the show was averaging just 4.8 million viewers. CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl, speaking to Deadline in 2021, didn’t cite ratings specifically, but made it clear that the show had run its course:

“Every year you evaluate what is making the strongest statement for your schedule and what gives you the best circulation, what will bring you the most numbers of viewers. You ask that question for pretty much every show every year, how can we make the schedule as strong as we can in the fall, and that leads to some tough decisions. MacGyver has been an excellent show for us, New Orleans was an excellent show for us. But sometimes shows hit the end of their cycle and we have to, in some cases, say goodbye.”

Like “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “NCIS: Hawaii” before it, the show was canceled because it no longer made sense for the network to keep it on the air. For CBS, or any network for that matter, it all comes down to cost/benefit analysis. Even though procedurals aren’t generally the most expensive shows to produce, they’re not the cheapest, either. It’s also important to remember that cast salaries generally increase as a show goes on. So with increased costs and decreasing viewership, the math no longer checked out.

The Covid-19 pandemic, which shut down Hollywood for months on end in 2020, was also a big factor that impacted a lot of shows around this time. Even so, the cancellation did come as a surprise to its stars, which included Lucas Black (Christopher LaSalle), Zoe McLellan (Meredith Brody), Rob Kerkovich (Sebastian Lund), and Vanessa Ferlito (Tammy Gregorio). 

“This being the last season, going out in the middle of a pandemic, I didn’t think it was going to happen,” Scott Bakula said in a May 2021 interview with TVInsider. “I’m surprised the show was canceled.” Bakula noted that the show had moved time slots several times during its run, but the fans still followed them. In the same interview, the actor, also known for his roles on “Quantum Leap” and “Star Trek: Enterprise,” expressed his gratitude to the fans:

“We’ve had a great run. They’ve been very supportive. They seem to have liked the show, they like the stories we told, the characters on the show, and that’s why we do it. We do it because we want people to grow a relationship and attach and invite us into their homes and we don’t take that lightly. I never have. I honor them and we have always had a great relationship and I look forward to continuing that in the future.”

“NCIS: New Orleans” is streaming now on Paramount+, or you can grab the complete series on DVD from Amazon.