NCIS: Hawai'i
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NCIS: Hawai'i
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that NCIS: Hawai'i is a crime procedural that follows the NCIS team solving cases on the island of Hawaii. Part of the larger NCIS franchise, the series features deadly situations including a plane crash and a car crash. Drugs are mentioned, and there are scenes with alcohol and light sexual content. The series does give viewers a slightly more respectful view of Hawaii by including the points of view of native Pacific Islanders and by including two Pacific Islanders in its cast.
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What's the Story?
CBS' latest NCIS series, NCIS: Hawai'i follows Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey) as she and her team of Naval criminal investigators solve crimes and keep one of America's porous borders safe from spies and other criminals.
Is It Any Good?
This nice-to-look at series hits the usual beats you expect from a CBS procedural show, but gets props for legitimate inclusion of native Hawaiian people in its cast. In one sense, there's not much to complain about -- fans of the popular series and of the procedural genre as a whole will feel satisfied with familiar character archetypes and cases getting solved without too much fuss. Of course, there's some violence, but --as par for the course with this kind of show -- it's violent enough to create some realism without ever letting you forget you're watching something many use to wind down with at the end of the day.
Where NCIS: Hawai'i builds on CBS' increased commitment to diversity is by showing a team that interacts with the native Hawaiian population on a daily basis. Instead of showing a whitewashed version of Hawaii, the series features a multicultural cast including Alex Tarrant, an actor from New Zealand who is of Māori, Samoan and Niuean heritage. While he's not Hawaiian, Tarrant's background does give him more authority on the experiences of native Pacific Islanders than if his character Kai Holman was cast with another actor. Moses Goods is another actor on the series who represents the Native Hawaiian experience. Goods is Black and Native Hawaiian, giving him first-hand knowledge of what it's like growing up on the island. Like most CBS shows, NCIS: Hawai'i is still gently guiding audiences towards being more inclusive in their thinking when it comes to procedurals. But it's great that the series has introduced their viewers to the fact that Hawaii is more than just a vacation spot --it's also an area of land that was once a nation unto itself.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Hawaii's culture. What makes Hawaii's culture unique? How are issues affecting Native Hawaiians included in the series?
How is teamwork explored in the series?
How is Jane Tennant as a leader? Is she a role model?
Why is the idea of family important to Jane Tennant and her team?
How does open communication help the NCIS team work together?
TV Details
- Premiere date: September 20, 2021
- Cast: Vanessa Lachey, Alex Tarrant, Tori Anderson, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Noah Mills, Jason Antoon, Moses Goods
- Network: CBS
- Genre: Action
- Character Strengths: Teamwork
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: August 12, 2022
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