CBS Speaks Out On Exit Of Former ‘Hawaii Five-0’ Stars Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park

It has been an interesting week for Hawaii Five-0 fans, as it was announced last week that Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park would not be back for Season 8 of the CBS hit show in the fall. Both Kim and Park have been series regulars since the show debuted on CBS, so it was a shocking exit for both of them.

Earlier today, Kim posted a lengthy Facebook post giving his side of things regarding leaving the show. It seems like it all came down to the fact that CBS was not willing to give Kim and Park the same pay as fellow co-stars, Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan. They were both having contract negotiations with the network, but they were ended when a deal could not be reached.

With all the talk from Kim and the rumors flying around the internet, we now have official word from CBS regarding the situation. In their statement, CBS claims that Kim and Park were offered “large and significant salary increases.” That would mean things fell back on Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, so is CBS blaming them for their decision? It would appear that way, but here is the official statement from CBS below.

“Daniel and Grace have been important and valued members of Hawaii Five-0 for seven seasons. We did not want to lose them and tried very hard to keep them with offers for large and significant salary increases. While we could not reach an agreement, we part ways with tremendous respect for their talents on screen, as well as their roles as ambassadors for the show off screen, and with hopes to work with them again in the near future.”

For Hawaii Five-0 fans, Season 8 is going to bring a lot of changes. Besides the exit of Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, we also saw Masi Oka, who played Dr. Max Bergman since early in Season 1, exit the show during season 7. That means three familiar faces gone for the new season.

Both Park and Kim wrapped up Season 7 with some cliffhangers, as Kono (Park) left the team to investigate a child sex trafficking ring. Meanwhile, Chin (Kim) was offered an opportunity to start up a new task force in San Francisco. So, maybe the writers knew the axe was falling down on these two last season?

So much went down, you may need to watch it all again. Catch up on the #H50 season finale now: https://t.co/upGA6kSAci pic.twitter.com/Xo3s4WMw2p

— HawaiiFive0CBS (@HawaiiFive0CBS) May 13, 2017

Per Entertainment Weekly, it looks like Hawaii Five-O will be hiring a new female series regular. No word on who that might be or what their role will be, but we shall keep you posted. Production on Hawaii Five-O began this week for Season 8, which will premiere on CBS beginning Friday, September 29 at 9 pm EST.

[Featured Image by Rick Kern/Getty Images]