Hawaii Five-0 notes: Alex O’Loughlin directing season 8 episode; Masi Oka’s new role
In a post on Twitter earlier today, show executive producer Peter M. Lenkov suggested that Alex’s directorial debut will come at around midseason. That timing feels right, since it’ll offer him a chance to get into the groove of the season before adding some extra duties to the list. That should also give the show a chance to stabilize a little bit in the midst of what has been an extremely chaotic month. After all, we don’t have to remind you of some of the changes to the cast, and there could be more additions coming beyond just newcomer Tani (whose casting has not been officially announced as of yet).
Hawaii Five-0 first started filming late last week, and it’s gearing up now for a September premiere. While O’Loughlin’s future beyond season 8 is unclear, the same could be said for the show, as well; as of now, the one thing that we do know is that there are no plans to kill off Steve McGarrett despite the radiation reveal at the end of season 7.
Should you be afraid for Steve? Certainly, but we do think that tonally this is a show that wants you to have hope for some of its heroes.
Other good news for Masi Oka
Last season Oka chose to depart the series, citing a busy travel schedule as one of the reasons. (That makes sense given everything that he’s had going on in both North America and Japan.)
According to TVLine, Oka now has a new guest-starring role on Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, where he will play the part of Fukumoto Akihiro, a super-successful tech CEO who is a supporter of the arts. Given that this arts are woven into the fabric of the show, his presence could prove itself to be rather significant.
Obviously, we’re thrilled for Masi, especially since this is once again a very different show than anything that he’s done before. One of the things that we liked so much about him coming onto Hawaii Five-0 following his time on Heroes was that he was playing a very different part than he had there, and on a show that revolved around very different subject matter. As an actor, one of the things that you do constantly want the most is the opportunity to mix things up.
We do still hope that Masi gets to return at some point down the line, whether it be for a milestone episode or some sort of finale. (For the record, we hope that the same thing can be done for Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park.)
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