NCIS Hawai’i already has a major difference that sets it apart from previous spinoff entries in the CBS franchise. The new series is the fourth television show to bear the NCIS title, following the original series and its spinoffs based in Los Angeles and New Orleans. NCIS Hawai'i season 1 premiered in September 2021 and has already shown itself to be a worthy successor to the name, while also bringing plenty of new and exciting elements to the fore.
As the title suggests, the primary focus of the series has been the NCIS, short for Naval Criminal Investigative Service. In each city, the NCIS solves cases that merge key tropes of standard police procedurals and military drama narratives. Each iteration of NCIS focuses on the agency branch in its titular location. Occasionally, a branch will collaborate with other agencies. The original series saw the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and NCIS: Los Angeles infrequently featured the Los Angeles Police Department.
NCIS: Hawai’i is a different beast entirely. The Hawai’i branch frequently engages with other agencies and has done so almost more times in just one season than the combined total of all of the other installments. Several episodes even see the series leads interacting with the Honolulu Police Department. Kate Whistler, the love interest of Lucy, is an agent of the Defense Intelligence Agency, bringing the DIA and Hawaii's NCIS branch into close contact, and sometimes conflict. Even so, the regular appearance of other federal agencies is a stark change of pace.
To have the NCIS interact with other federal agencies so frequently is extremely new to this spinoff. Historically, the series has been extremely insular, and members of the NCIS have more often than not expressed deep skepticism of other investigative government agencies, fearing that the slow pace of bureaucracy will hinder the NCIS’s ability to catch criminals in time. That doesn’t appear to be the case with NCIS: Hawai’i. This time, collaboration and cooperation is a key tenet, and often results in positive outcomes. The cohesiveness of interagency work infuses the new spinoff with a fresh outlook on how best to solve a case.
Teamwork is a core message of NCIS, from the first series through every spinoff. But it is usually limited to teamwork occurring inside the NCIS itself. NCIS Hawai’i is turning that trope on its head by fostering an environment of inclusion and a goal of mutual benefit across the entire investigative field.