The CBS Friday night hit series "Hawaii Five-0" will lose two of its long-time stars. Daniel Dae Kim (Chin Ho Kelly) and Grace Park (Kono Kalakaua) have not signed on for season 8 as their contract negotiations with the network fell through.
The Asian actors were reportedly going to get paid 15 percent less than their white co-stars Alex O' Loughlin (Steve McGarrett) and Scott Caan (Danny Williams) for the new season. But all four actors have appeared and worked in the same number of episodes since the show's beginnings.
Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan also have back-end deals in their contracts that allowed them to earn profits from the show.
Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park's contracts had no such arrangement.
How will 'Hawaii Five-0' address the changes?
Kim and Park played cousins on "Hawaii Five-O" and show producers hope to address their absence in season 8, in the very first episode. It's still unclear how the writers will thrash out their storyline but the assumption is that it will not be too hard to wrap this up.
In the finale of "Hawaii Five-0" season 7, Chin Ho was supposed to leave for San Francisco to head the new task force. Kono, on the other hand, was on a mission to investigate a child trafficking syndicate and she was also packing up her bags.
Will 'Hawaii Five-0' introduce new characters?
Following the actors’ departure, TV Line reported that the show plans on adding a new female regular lead star.
She will be playing the role of Tani who gets the boot from the police academy for cheating allegations. Tami now works as a lifeguard in Hawaii. CBS has not yet announced who will play this new role in “Hawaii Five-0” but it's fair to note that her addition was planned while the Asian actors were in the midst of negotiations.
According to Business Insider who cited Variety, a representative for the network said, "We are so appreciative of Daniel and Grace's enormous talents, professional excellence, and the aloha spirit they brought to each and every one of our 168 episodes. They've helped us build an exciting new Hawaii Five-0, and we wish them all the best and much success in their next chapters.
Mahalo and a hui hou."
Daniel Dae Kim already has a new project lined up on TV. He's set to work behind the scenes as an executive producer of a new show, "The Good Doctor."
“Hawaii Five-0” is a reboot of the 1960s series that was on television until 1980. The procedural cop drama also featured Masi Oka (Max Bergman), Chi McBride (Lou Grover), Taylor Wily (Kamkona), Jorge Garcia (Jerry Ortega), Michelle Borth (Catherine Rollins), Mark Dacascos (Wo Fat), Terry O' Quinn (Joe White), Taryn Manning (Mary Ann McGarrett) and Christine Lahti (Doris McGarrett).
