“Hawaii Five-O” boss Peter M. Lenkov is defending the CBS procedural after stars Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park’s departure.
“Hawaii Five-O” boss Peter M. Lenkov is defending the CBS procedural after stars Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park’s departure.
“The truth is this: both actors chose not to extend their contracts. CBS was extremely generous and proactive in their renegotiation talks. So much so, the actors were getting unprecedented raises, but in the end they chose to move on. No one wanted to see them go — they are irreplaceable, ” the showrunner wrote on Twitter Thursday, his first public comments on the issue.
“After being away from her family for seven years, I understood Grace’s decision to leave. There was an opportunity for her to return for a handful of episodes, but for several reasons that didn’t work out. In the end, everyone tried their best to keep the ohana intact. So much so, we were holding off from reporting the news, hoping an agreement could still be reached. Yes, it’s heartbreaking, but this happens on long-running shows. It is a hurdle we all worked hard trying to overcome.”
The co-stars quit the show abruptly after seven seasons over a pay dispute with the network; both actors were reportedly making about $5,000 less per episode than the $200,000 paychecks of stars Alex O’ Loughlin and Scott Caan, according to Variety .
Daniel Dae Kim confirms ‘Hawaii Five-0’ exit amid salary drama
In a statement on Facebook Wednesday, Kim alluded to the contract dispute in a thank you note to the cast, crew and fans.
“I’ ll end by saying that though transitions can be difficult, I encourage us all to look beyond the disappointment of this moment to the bigger picture, ” he wrote.
“The path to equality is rarely easy. But I hope you can be excited for the future. I am.”
