CBS Explains ‘Hawaii Five-0’ Diversity, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park’s Shocking Exit

“Hawaii Five-0” will feature several changes other than the recent departure of Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park.

While at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, CBS entertainment chief Kelly Kahl said that changes will take place in Season 8. Since last year, CBS has been receiving flak from the viewers for their lack of diversity in casting, but Kahl said that changes have been up by 60 percent this season. “We are absolutely moving in the right direction. We are making progress,” he said.

Read: Meaghan Rath and Beulah Koale cast in major roles in “Hawaii Five-0” Season 8

In July, “Hawaii Five-0” regular cast members Kim and Park announced their exit from the series after seven seasons. It was reported that the co-stars were requesting for salary parity with Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan. Unfortunately, Kim, in a lengthy post on his Facebook account, said that this request was not met by CBS.

However, “Hawaii Five-0” showrunner Peter M. Lenkov said that there’s no truth to Kim’s statement. The EP said that CBS was generous enough to offer both Kim and Park hefty raises, but they still refused to reprise their respective roles for Season 8.

Kahl supported Lenkov’s statement during Tuesday’s event. “We love both of these actors and did not want to lose them. We made very, very strong attempts to keep them,” he said.

One of the moves they did was to offer Kim and Park a huge sum of money. But Kahl also acknowledged the fact that it’s highly likely for long-running shows to lose their regular cast members over time. The same can be said about “Grey’s Anatomy,” “CSI” and “SVU.”

Following Kim and Park’s exit, “Hawaii Five-0” has cast Meaghan Rath and Beulah Koale. They have also promoted Ian Anthony Dale from recurring guest star to series regular for Season 8, according to TV Line.

Meanwhile, CBS senior executive VP Thom Sherman also weighed in on reports that claimed CBS has failed to release a new series with a female lead. “We had six pilots with female leads and the way things turned out those pilots were not deemed to be as good as the pilots that were picked up,” he said.

“Hawaii Five-0” Season 8 will premiere on CBS on Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. EST.