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‘Hawaii Five-0’ Season 8 Spoilers: Showrunner Reveals Juicy Details, Daniel And Grace’s Exit Will Be Addressed

By Nica Virtudazo
Published on: 05:26 PST, Sep 27, 2017

Many fans are now excited for the forthcoming premiere of Hawaii Five-0 Season 8 despite the fact that two original cast members decided to leave the show. CBS announced Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park’s decision to exit the American police procedural television series in July. The news came after the pair allegedly appealed to get a salary increase since they have been receiving less than their American co-stars.

In an official statement released three months ago, the network claimed it did not reach an agreement with Daniel and Grace. Therefore, the duo decided to stop filming for the upcoming Hawaii Five-0 Season 8. However, CBS is still open to working with the Asian actors in the near future.

“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.”

An unnamed source previously told Variety that Daniel Dae Kim was offered $5,000 less per episode than Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan. However, close pals of the 49-year-old Korean-American actor contended that the salary gap is much larger than what was picked up by various news outlets. Grace Park, for her part, got disappointed when she was offered lower than the one presented to Daniel.

Since two of the most important characters of the series are already gone, fans are wondering how the series would address Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua’s departure in Hawaii Five-0 Season 8. Peter M. Lenkov revealed to TV Line that the team is still trying to digest the fact that two of their associates have already quit. The showrunner also shared that Daniel and Grace’s characters would not leave at the same time.

“I don’t think anybody has accepted it; I think they’re still sort of in that period of trying to accept the fact that the team has changed. They dynamic has changed. There are a couple scenes where they do reference them and how much they’re missed, but they are happy for where they are in their lives and stuff.”

Peter also divulged to the publication that three new regular casts would be added in Hawaii Five-0 Season 8, which include newbie star Beulah Koale, Salvation star Ian Anthony Dale and Meaghan Rath of Being Human. Beulah would portray as Junior, who would ask Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) if he could join his team. Meaghan, on the other hand, is said to play the role of Tani, while Ian is going to return as Kono’s husband.

Meanwhile, Peter M. Lenkov previously confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that Steve would not die of radiation poisoning in the up and coming new installment. The showrunner added Danny Williams’ (Scott Caan) plan to get into restaurant business would connect to the legacy theme that would be tackled in Hawaii Five-0 Season 8.

“A big part of last year and this year is talking about people’s legacies and what they leave behind.”

Hawaii Five-0 Season 8 is set to premiere on Friday, September 29 at 9 p.m. EDT on CBS Channel. Stay tuned for more spoilers, news, and updates!

[Featured Image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]

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Alex O'Loughlin hawaii five-0 Daniel Dae Kim
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