‘Hawaii Five-0’ Cast Grace Park, Daniel Dae Kim Leaving CBS Series Ahead Of Season 8 Premiere

Some of the original cast members of “Hawaii Five-0” have decided to leave the hit CBS procedural drama after Season 7.

According to TV Line, Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim will no longer reprise their respective roles, Kono Kalakaua and Chin Ho Kelly. But fans of the series and the two characters will get a glimpse of what exactly happened to Kono and Chin in the premiere episode for Season 8. In the Season 7 finale, Kono went rogue to chase after the sex traffickers. Chin, on the other hand, was offered an opportunity to head the Five-O unit in San Francisco.

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Variety claimed that Park and Kim decided to leave the popular franchise after they failed to secure pay equality with their fellow original cast members Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan. O’Loughlin, who plays the role of McGarrett, previously announced that he will also be leaving “Hawaii Five-0” at the end of Season 8.

“Hawaii Five-0” showrunner Peter M. Lenkov released a statement following Park and Kim’s exit. “I will never forget meeting Daniel while still writing the plot and being certain there was no other actor who I’d want to play Chin Ho Kelly. Needless to say, Daniel has been an instrumental part of the success of ‘Hawaii Five-0’ over the past seven seasons and it has personally been a privilege to know him,” he said.

Talking about Park, Lenkov praised the actress’ perseverance in making each episode of the series beautiful. “She was the consummate collaborator, helping build her character from Day 1. They will always be ohana to us, we will miss them and we wish them both all the best,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, in order to fill in the void of Park and Kim’s recent exit, as well as O’Loughlin’s upcoming departure, the producers of “Hawaii Five-0” are currently in search for an actress who can play the role of Tani, a lifeguard turned top police academy candidate who got kicked out due to some of her deeds. Tani will soon find her way into McGarrett’s team in Season 8.

“Hawaii Five-0” will premiere on CBS on Sept. 29 at 9 p.m. EST.