Orleans Was Canceled By CBS After Just 7 Seasons

NCIS: New Orleans was the second spinoff in the NCIS franchise, bringing Special Agent Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula) and his team to our screens. It brought a different tone compared to the rest of the series, leaning heavily into the New Orleans culture and beliefs, including some supernatural aspects to the series. While the cast changed throughout the years, the team remained gelled and intriguing, and when the series was canceled after just seven seasons it was a huge shock. NCIS had long been a great franchise for spinoffs, so seven seasons of New Orleans felt like a short order.

In fact, after the cancelation, there was hope that some of the characters of NCIS: New Orleans would move into other parts of the NCIS franchise, with calls to move at least one to NCIS: Hawaii, which was just starting up at the time. There are still ways that the franchise could include the characters, especially with recent mentions in the flagship series. As NCIS moves ahead, most recently with NCIS: New York, there is always room for more of the New Orleans team to get involved. Still, in the years since the series, more information has come to light.

NCIS: New Orleans Was Canceled Because It Supposedly Ran Its Course

The news of the cancelation was a shock to all, including the cast of NCIS: New Orleans. As soon as Bakula made it clear that he was more than happy to continue with the series, we knew that the cancelation decision came from CBS. According to Deadline, the CBS Entertainment president at the time, Kelly Kahl, confirmed this, sharing that some “shows hits the end of their cycle.” While that’s not necessarily untrue, it feels like an easy way to explain away the cancelation without much information.

The linear ratings also caused a problem for the series, with TV Series Finale showing just how the ratings dropped each season. Initially, the series aired on Tuesdays after the flagship series and was moved to the later timeslot to allow for CBS’ FBI. As the linear ratings continued to decline, especially after the exit of NCIS: New Orleans Agent Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black), the series was moved to Sunday nights in the final timeslot, a timeslot that traditionally doesn’t perform well and sees TV shows end. In fact, just years later, NCIS: Los Angeles would suffer the same fate.

What Happened In NCIS: New Orleans Finale

Despite the cancelation during the season, the NCIS: New Orleans season 7 finale did work relatively well as a series finale. It included Pride getting married to Rita (played by Bakula’s real-life wife Chelsea Field). While the two had been planning their wedding, they sped up the plans as Pride’s mother, Mena (Joanna Cassidy), had a brief moment of lucidity in her dementia, and Pride understandably wanted to take advantage of that. In the episode before, Pride also needed to help protect Conner (Drew Scheid), the teen he learned was his son, from a criminal, Sasha (Callie Thorne).

As Conner’s mother, she wanted to go into witness protection with Conner, and Pride was initially against it. In the end, Pride realized that he couldn’t completely stop the situation and allowed Conner to go with Sasha if that’s what he wanted.

As for the rest of the team, Quentin Carter (Charles Michael Davis) was offered a promotion in Japan, but he chose not to take it. He and Hannah Khoury (Necar Zadegan) had started a new relationship, and both of them wanted to see where it would go. Tammy Gregorio (Vanessa Ferlito) decided it was time to take the next step in her relationship and moved in with her girlfriend, and Loretta (CCH Pounder) pushed for a health care reform proposal, which was accepted by the city.

Can Any Of The NCIS: New Orleans Character Still Return In The Franchise?

While NCIS: New Orleans season 8 may not have happened, it doesn’t mean that the characters have been forgotten about. There are ways for some of the characters to appear, although it is trickier now with the actors moving onto other projects. That being said, a one-off guest spot in the NCIS flagship series could be a possibility, even if it is over the screen.

Another option would be to bring a young Dwayne Pride into the NCIS: Origins cast. There have been various younger versions of characters from the NCIS universe already, including a young Fornell and an upcoming appearance from a young Lara Macy from the NCIS: Los Angeles backdoor pilot. Bringing in a younger version of a character reduces the issue of getting Bakula back into the series if he is no longer interested in playing the character as it would mean a younger actor is needed.

While NCIS: New Orleans has been off the air for some time, we would still love to catch up with where the characters are now. This was one of those shows canceled too soon, and it was purely for business needs.