Hawaii Five-0 season 8: CBS exec on Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park exits

CBS had their panel presentation today while at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, and of course, Hawaii Five-0 was a topic. We’re weeks removed now from the departures of both Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim from the series, but the sting is still there for many fans.

Ever since the news was first announced, show executive producer Peter M. Lenkov and CBS have both made it clear that they wanted to keep both Park and Kim on the series, but there was a pay dispute that kept the parties involved from reaching an agreement. These comments were echoed further by the network’s new programming head Kelly Kahl on Tuesday, as she made it clear that there were attempts to try and strike new agreements:

“We love both those actors and did not want to lose them. We made very, very strong attempts to keep them [and tried to give them] an awful lot of money … At some point [in long-running series], there’s [often] some cast turnover.”

The news of these exits is difficult to swallow, even if CBS since that time has tried to make some other changes in Hawaii Five-0 across the board. Several recurring characters are being brought on as series regulars, Ian Anthony Dale is going to be around full-time as Kono’s husband Adam, and there are two new characters being brought on the show. The story must go on, even if it is painful, and the producers are clearly trying to keep some of the soul of the first seven seasons even though it will be different in terms of cast from here on out. The new season is going to start airing in September, but production is already underway trying to craft some more stories for the team.

We wouldn’t be surprised if, in addition to all of the new characters coming aboard Hawaii Five-0 this season, there is a further concentrated effort in order to bring in some familiar guest stars from the past. There’s some irony to relying on nostalgia even after you bring in some new faces, but we think that the relationship goes something like this: Once you expose your audience to some of these new faces, they, in turn, start to miss more the people who were a part of the show for a long time previously. It’s a reminder that they are gone, and as writers and producers, you need to remind them that you’re still the same show and the same ohana behind the scenes.

Want some other Hawaii Five-0 guest star news?

If you head over here, you can see one familiar face from the past who is going to be stopping by for at least one episode early on in season 8. We will have some further updates as time goes by.

Are you as interested in watching Hawaii Five-0 as you were in the past, even with some of the changes that are coming? Be sure to share right now in the comments. (Photo: CBS.)