NCIS: New Orleans, the youngest show of the NCIS franchise, is slated to end with its seventh season on CBS, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series finale will air on May 16 on CBS.
The show hails from its mothership series, NCIS, which has resulted in several spinoffs, including NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, and the developing series NCIS: Hawaii. Executive produced and starring Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap), NCIS: New Orleans followed suit with its original series, following criminal cases involving military personnel, only in a different city. Also executive produced by Christopher Silber (Elementary) and Jan Nash (River of Dreams), the series stars Vanessa Ferlito (Death Proof), Charles Michael Davis (The Originals, Grey’s Anatomy), Chelsea Field (Angel Falls), and Daryl Mitchell (Galaxy Quest). The flagship series is still awaiting renewal for the 19th season while NCIS: Los Angeles is still awaiting news of renewal for its 13th season. Speaking of the cancellation of NCIS: New Orleans, Bakula stated, “Sad to end our love affair with this phenomenal city but so grateful for all the friends we made along the way. I will miss the music. Big thank you to CBS for seven years,” via The Hollywood Reporter.
Ending on a high note, the upcoming final episode of the series will be its 155th. The NCIS flagship series has broken barriers as the longest-running show on CBS as well as the most-watched drama series on television with more than 15 million total viewers. President of CBS Entertainment, Kelly Kahl, said in a statement, “From the start, NCIS: New Orleans was able to distinguish itself with its New Orleans authenticity, from the colors and music to the vibrancy and stories you can only find in the Big Easy. Thanks to the amazing talents of the producers, writers, cast and crew, ‘NOLA’ has played a key role on our schedule. We’re pleased to give it a big sendoff and that viewers will have the opportunity to say goodbye to their favorite characters as the final season wraps,” via The Hollywood Reporter.
News of this cancellation comes just as talks of new developing spinoff series NCIS: Hawaii from executive producers Silber and Nash have begun. If NCIS: New Orleans was given a renewal and NCIS: Hawaii was given a series order, the franchise could have joined Law & Order by having four series on-air simultaneously. Regardless, the series’ cast and crew have bittersweet emotions about their cancellation. Silber and Nash said in a statement, “It has been our sincere pleasure and honor to work on this show with this incredible cast and crew for over 150 episodes. As disappointed as we are to see NOLA end, we couldn’t be prouder of the work we’ve done and are grateful to the spectacular and resilient Crescent CIty that embraced us for seven wonderful years,” per The Hollywood Reporter.
Alongside NCIS: New Orleans, the network has also canceled the Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory) produced series Mom after eight total seasons. Its final episode will air in May.