Hawaii Five-0 season 8: Daniel Dae Kim explains decision to leave show

Production on Hawaii Five-0 season 8 is on the other side of the horizon, but the news of Daniel Dae Kim leaving puts a dark cloud on everything.

Given that the actor is frequently open with his fans on social media (one of the many things we love about him), we knew that it was only a matter of time before he commented on his exit further, and now he has. In a lengthy post on Facebook, he confirmed that he will not be returning. As he explained, his departure came about as a result of negotiations break down, and that he was open to coming back provided the terms were agreeable:

“…By now many of you have heard the news, and I’m sad to say it is true. I will not be returning to Hawaii Five-0 when production starts next week. Though I made myself available to come back, CBS and I weren’t able to agree to terms on a new contract, so I made the difficult choice not to continue.

“As sad as it feels to say goodbye, what I feel most is gratitude. I am so deeply thankful to our crew, writers and everyone associated with the show – and especially the cast, who have been nothing but supportive through this entire process. They and the crew have been my second family for seven years and I wish them nothing but success for season 8 – and beyond.”

Kim discussed how much he will miss the people he worked with in Hawaii, which has been a tremendous home for him both with Hawaii Five-0 and one of our favorite shows of all time Lost, which also filmed in the state for many years prior to the crime series starting up for the network. He also alluded to the rumors about him and fellow co-star Grace Park seeking equal pay in saying that “the path to equality is rarely easy. But I hope you can be excited for the future. I am. 5-0 continues on after one of its strongest seasons.” Unfortunately, the situation that Kim may be experiencing here is bigger than any one show, and he understands that. It’s heartbreaking to see the character of Chin go (he’s easily our favorite – no one is cooler then Chin), but when you have an actor of his caliber available, you know that someone is going to be interested in scooping him up.

For now, Daniel has a major producing job ahead of him with The Good Doctor over on ABC — he helped to kick-start the series starring Freddie Highmore with House alum David Shore, who will serve as showrunner for the first season premiering this fall. As for whether or not he appears on Hawaii Five-0 again down the road, never say never, but we also don’t want to be the site that throws out false hope as much as we want more Daniel on the show. We’ll just see what the future holds and then go from there. The challenge is now on the writers and producers of that show to find a way to move the Hawaii Five-0 series forward, and that’s not going to be easy.

For more news on the casting shakeup

Head over to the link here, since that’s where you can also read about the exit of Grace Park’s Kono and some of the challenges that this could cause the series. Also, be sure to leave us a comment int he box below and share your feelings on Kim leaving the show. (Photo: CBS)