Hawaii Five-0 has made some changes in its cast less than a month after it was announced that Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, who played Chin Ho and Kono respectively, were leaving the show.
The first major change is promoting Ian Anthony Dale as a series regular. Dale played Adam, Kono's husband. Adam will officially be recruited by Steve McGarrett to work with Five-0 in Season 8.
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The second notable change is introducing Meaghan Rath and Beulah Koale into the ranks.
Rath will play Tani Rey, a lifeguard who was kicked out of the Police Academy, and Koale will play Junior Reigns, a former Navy SEAL.
When Chin and Kono portrayers Kim and Park announced their departure from the show, it was reported that they took the decision to leave after failing to come to terms with CBS regarding their pay. But Hawaii Five-0 showrunner Peter Lenkov revealed that CBS had offered them good money to stick around.
"The truth is this: Both actors chose not to extend their contracts," he said in a statement on Twitter. "CBS was extremely generous and proactive in their renegotiation talks. So much so, the actors were getting unprecedented raises, but in the end they chose to move on."
"No one wanted to see them go - they are irreplaceable," he said. "After being away from her family for seven years, I understood Grace's decision to leave. There was an opportunity for her to return for a handful of episodes, but for several reasons that didn't work out. In the end, everyone tried their best to keep the ohana intact."
Season 8 premiere will address their departure.
Hawaii Five-0 will return to CBS on September 29 at 9 pm ET.
