CBS has been expanding its already prolific lineup of procedural dramas this season with a number of new shows, and it looks like at least two are going to survive for a full season. The network has announced that they have ordered full seasons for both NCIS: Hawai’i and FBI: International, both spinoffs of already successful, long-running CBS dramas, to continue into 2022.
Both original series represent two of the top three new shows that launched on broadcast networks for the 2021-2022 season, with Hawai’i taking the top spot and International coming in at number three. The former, starring Vanessa Lachey, has carried over a number of loyal viewers from its parent series — NCIS, currently the second longest-running, non-animated series still on the air — averaging 9.3 million viewers per week, while the latter, starring Luke Kleintank, averages 8.79 million viewers per week.
“These two terrific new dramas are off to a tremendous start,” says Kelly Kahl, President of CBS Entertainment. “They have significantly strengthened and improved our lineup on their respective nights and are generating huge increases on our streaming platforms as well. We applaud the talented producers, writers and casts on their compelling storytelling and performances, which are clearly resonating with viewers.”
NCIS: Hawai’i and FBI: International rely heavily on the same formulaic “criminal of the week” set-ups that make their parent shows so successful, but with a twist — moving their locations from Washington, D.C. and New York City, respectively, to more exotic locales, with Hawai’i seeing its team based out of O’ahu, and International moving around the world, with a team based in Budapest. NCIS saw previous success with this globe-trotting formula, with the spinoffs NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans achieving significant success.
NCIS: Hawai’i, also starring Alex Tarrant, Noah Mills, and Yasmine Al-Bustami, airs on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, with FBI: International, also starring Heida Reed, Carter Redwood, Vinessa Vidotto, and Christiane Paul, airing on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.