There’s also the racial component to their departures. The optics of both Asian team members leaving at the same time over not reportedly being paid the same as their white costars is not making the show or CBS look good. Much of the goodwill the show had over the years (from both fans and the locals in Hawaii) was because it had a cast that represented Hawaii’s culture and ethnic diversity well. That goodwill could easily go away if they hire white actors or Asian actors that seem to be thrown in as token replacements and their characters don’t appear to have a real connection to Hawaii that Chin Ho and Kono had.