“Hawaii Five-0” is losing two core members of its force.
Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park are leaving the CBS procedural ahead of Season 8. Viewers will get an update on characters Chin Ho Kelly (Kim) and Kono Kalakaua (Park) during the premiere on Sept. 29.
Showrunner Peter Lenkov said he will miss working with the two cast members.
“I will never forget meeting Daniel while still writing the pilot and being certain there was no other actor who I’d want to play Chin Ho Kelly,” Lenkov said in a statement. “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.”
Lenkov continued, “Grace’s presence gave ‘Hawaii Five-0’ a beauty and serenity to each episode. She was the consummate collaborator, helping build her character from day one. They will always be ohana [Hawaiian for ‘family’] to us, we will miss them and we wish them both all the best.”
CBS said in a statement that the network is “so appreciative of Daniel and Grace’s enormous talents, professional excellence and the aloha spirit they brought to each and every one of our 168 episodes. They’ve helped us build an exciting new ‘Hawaii Five-0,’ and we wish them all the best and much success in their next chapters. Mahalo and a hui hou …”
“Hawaii Five-0” launched in September 2010 and is a reboot of the original series that signed off in 1980 after 12 seasons. It stars Alex O’Loughlin (Steve McGarrett), Scott Caan (Danno Williams), Chi McBride (Lou Grover) and Jorge Garcia (Jerry Ortega).
Masi Oka (Max Bergman) left the show during Season 7.
“Hawaii Five-0” returns for Season 8 on Friday, Sept. 29, on CBS.