‘Hawaii Five-0’ Alums Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park Reunite In Vancouver

“Hawaii Five-0” alums Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park recently reunited weeks after leaving the CBS series.

On his Instagram account, the actor revealed that he and Park are currently in Canada. He also used the hashtag “cousins” and “reunited” in his caption. Kim and Park played the roles of Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua, respectively. They were members of the Five-0 task force. Kim and Park were cast in “Hawaii Five-0” in Season 1, but last month, they decided to leave the series after seven seasons.

Read: CBS explains “Hawaii Five-0” diversity and departures of Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park

According to Entertainment Weekly, Kim and Park left “Hawaii Five-0” over contract-related issues. The co-stars were demanding for pay parity with Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan. Kim also penned a lengthy Facebook post a few days after their departure from the series was announced and said that their request didn’t materialize.

However, “Hawaii Five-0” showrunner Peter M. Lenkov said that there’s no truth to Kim’s statement. On his Twitter account, Lenkov clarified that CBS had been very generous with giving Kim and Park the pay increase that they both deserve. However, they still decided to no longer renew their contracts for Season 8.

Earlier this week, CBS entertainment chief Kelly Kahl seconded Lenkov’s statement regarding the network’s attempt to make Kim and Park stay in “Hawaii Five-0.” While at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, he said, “We made very, very strong attempts to keep them.”

Kahl added that they offered the actors “an awful lot of money.” But the chief also acknowledged the fact that main actors leaving a show is very common, especially for series that have already aired multiple seasons.

Meanwhile, Kim and Park’s departure will pave the way for the introduction of new characters. As of late, Meaghan Rath and Beulah Koale have already been cast in major roles in Season 8. Rath will play the role of Tani Rey, and Koale will give life to Junior Reigns. Park’s onscreen husband, Ian Anthony Dale, has also been upped as a series regular in the upcoming episodes.

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