Perhaps the most successful example from a wave of remakes and reimagined tv series to appear in the last decade, CBS‘ Hawaii Five-0 will end its run with the current series, its tenth season.
The show was based on the classic, long-running Hawaii-Five-0 series (that ran from 1960-1980) which featured Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett and James MacArthur as Danny ‘Dano’ Williams, working police cases on the island… and with one of the most familiar theme-tunes in tv history. The 21st century reboot reworked some of the original show’s stories and supporting characters but was a more action-filled version with Alex O’Loughlin taking the McGarrett role and Scott Caan as ‘Dano’ and also with an emphasis on a larger team of officers.
Interestingly, the modern version became a lynchpin between a tentative ‘universe’ of CBS shows. Hawaii-Five-0 crossed over with NCIS: Los Angeles and other reboots such as Magnum PI (also based on the island) and MacGyver. There were also occasional characters who reprised their roles form the original ’70s series. There were controversies…. in 2017 both Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim left the show after they disputed their contract,s both noting that despite their screen-time they appeared to be getting less than some of their colleagues – and apparently wanted parity. CBS disputed any racial element and said the stars were offered significant pay-increases, but could not come to terms. In recent seasons Caan has also had less episodes apparently because he preferred to live away from the island and spend more time with his family. New characters were brought in, expanding the team.
McLoughlin had a serious back injury two years ago and there were rumours at the time he might exit, but he decided to continue despite the stresses involved. Both McLoughlin and Williams’ current contracts were up with tis season and it’s understood O’Loughlin wanted to call it a day.
“It’s never easy to say goodbye to a hit franchise that carried on the legacy of the original with such distinction while establishing its own signature style,” Kelly Kahl, president of CBS Entertainment said in a statement. “From episode one, Hawaii-Five-0 has been a huge success for us. Thanks to the amazing talents of the producers, writers, cast and crew, it has played a key role for a decade on our schedule and helped establish our powerhouse Friday night. We cannot be prouder of its quality, longevity and are thankful for the passionate fan-devotion it inspired.”
The final feature-length episode will be broadcast on 3rd April, almost twenty years to the day of the original show’s departure (5th April 1980). It will be the 240th episode, so coming in just less than the impressive run of the original (which has 279 over twelve seasons).
