Much of the NCIS: Hawai’i cast gathered at a beach on Friday evening to celebrate their ohana and profess their love for the island they have called home and office for the better part of three years.
Two weeks after CBS announced its decision to cancel NCIS: Hawai’i — and more than a month after filming wrapped on what would be the series finale — Vanessa Lachey (who starred as Jane Tennant), Tori Anderson (Kate), and Jason Antoon (Ernie) and his wife Seana Kofoed (Dr. Chase) shared Instagram stories chronicling an oceanside gathering they had with Lachey’s husband Nick Lachey, Anderson’s husband Mitch Myers, and Noah Mills and an unidentified lady friend.
“We ❤️ U Hawai’i’…. We really REALLY LOVE You!” wrote Vanessa Lachey alongside snaps of her with Nick, and with more of the gang — all with a beautiful sunset unfolding on the horizon.
Lachey also gave shout outs to the original cast members not on hand for the reunion: “To my favorite Kiwi,” Alex Tarrant (who played Kai); “And to our Yas!” (as in Yasmine Al-Bustami, who played Lucy).
Lachey, after taking time to fully process the cancellation news, had on May 1 shared on Instagram a serene video of her seated by the ocean — at the same spot she filmed a scene in the pilot. “As I sat here today, knowing our show is over, I turned to [the ocean] again [asking] what do we do now,” she wrote. “She answered with ease. Just as the air hits the water & the water hits the land, the waves connect to the shore, some with a huge impact, then… it goes back out. You see… we aren’t meant to be here forever, we are on borrowed time. We appreciate what was given to us for our use, we nurture it and then we leave it better for the next dreamer.”
“I wish we had more time, I’m sorry we don’t. I wish we had a proper good-bye, I’m sorry we didn’t,” she added. “I know we ALL are connected deeper than any TV show.”
Mills in the immediate wake of the cancellation shared via his own Instagram story “It was soooo much damn fun while it lasted! … Incredibly grateful for the memories and to the AMAZING people on the great island of Oahu Hawaii, I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to visit, live, play, work and grow in such a special place.”
Anderson, whose Kate was in a relationship with Al-Bustami’s Lucy for all three seasons, at first reacted by saying, “This is a huge loss for representation.” She’d later expound, “Goodbyes are never easy and this one definitely hurts. … This show changed my life. Hawai’i changed my life. I wish it wasn’t ending but I’m grateful for every single moment. We had quite the beautiful ride.”
Antoon back then wrote, “This business is brutal and makes no sense. But we had soooo much fun. Love you all and mahalo,” while Kofoed offered “So much ❤️ to our #ncishawaii fans. We continue to believe in the power of creating great entertainment while representing the world in which we live.”
Though CBS has no plans to un-cancel NCIS: Hawai’i, nor is there any information about the series being “shopped” elsewhere, a #SaveNCISHawaii campaign (complete with Times Square billboard) has been afoot, which Lachey and other cast have acknowledged and celebrated on social media.
This past Monday, NCIS: Hawai’i‘s unplanned series finale earned an average TVLine reader grade “B,” rose 7% to its biggest audience since the season premiere (5.41 mil), and netted its first 0.4 demo rating in six episodes.
