NCIS: Hawai'i Vet Shares Video of ‘Empty,' Weedy Honolulu Studio, as Governor Fights for TV/Film Incentives
NCIS: Hawai'i vet Jason Antoon, who played the three-season CBS drama's Ernie, recently shared a drive-by video of the Hawaii Film Studio in Honolulu, a 7.5-acre lot at the foot of Diamond Head crater that most recently was home to the NCIS spinoff and CBS' Magnum P.I. reboot.
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In decades prior, the lot also was home base for nearly a dozen other TV shows — including CBS' Hawaii Five-0 reboot, Shawn Ryan's Last Resort and, of course, Lost — plus feature films such as Fifty First Dates and Blue Crush.
Hawaii Film Studios – Empty and full of weeds. #NCISHawaii #MagnumPI #Hawaii50 #Lost 😢 pic.twitter.com/FGqT4WfyRN
— Jason Antoon (@jasonantoon) June 7, 2025
With the recent cancellation of Fox's Rescue HI-Surf, which filmed in Oahu and its North Shore, Hawai'i now is hosting no TV production for the first time in more than 20 years. That's a frightful stat when you consider that film and television productions generated over $320 million for the Hawai'i economy as recently as 2024.
'We've had such a doldrum of no work pretty much since Magnum cancelled, [Disney+'s] Doogie [Kamealoha M.D.] cancelled, NCIS[: Hawai'i] cancelled…,' IATSE Local 665 rep Irish Barber shared with Hawaii News Now after Rescue HI-Surf got the axe. And shows that swing by to film an episode or two don't provide enough steady work to truly support the local talent pool. (For example, 90% percent of Rescue HI-Surf crew members were based out of Hawaii.)
Hawai'i currently offers TV and film production 'incentives' in the form of a tax refund of 22% for Oʻahu productions and 27% on neighboring islands. That falls short, though, of the more competitive 30% or larger refunds offered by other states.
And even those Hawai'i incentives are at risk.
Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green recently declared his intent to veto a bill that would 'sunset' such tax credits after five years (or by one third annually starting with Year 6). 'This bill would have a significant long-term impact on income tax credits across a variety of industries, including film and television, research, and renewable energy,' Green's office explained, and 'disincentivize future investors from doing business in Hawai'i.'
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