NEW YORK — CBS on Wednesday announced three new cast members of “Hawaii Five-0,” which starts its eighth season in the fall.
Ian Anthony Dale, Meaghan Rath and Beulah Koale will replace original cast members Daniel Dae Kim (Lt. Chin Ho Kelly) and Grace Park (Officer Kono Kalakaua), who left the show over a salary dispute. Both were paid less than their white co-stars, Alex McLoughlin (Lt. Cmdr. Steve McGarrett) and Scott Caan (Detective Danny Williams). Masi Oka (Dr. Max Bergman) had already departed during Season 7 to pursue other projects.
The absence of Chin Ho and Kono will be explained in the Sept. 29 season opener.
Dale has had a recurring role since Season 2 as Adam Noshimuri, confidential informant for Five-0 and Kono’s love interest and later husband. He will be recruited by McGarrett to work on the team. Dale’s other TV credits include “Murder in the First,” “The Event,” “Hart of Dixie,” “Mortal Kombat: Legacy,” “Emily Owens, M.D.,” “The Mentalist,” “CSI,” “Burn Notice,” “Criminal Minds,” “24” and “Day Break,” and he can currently be seen in the CBS suspense thriller “Salvation.” His films include “The Bucket List,” “The Hangover” and “XOXO.”
Rath will play Tani Rey, who was kicked out of the Police Academy despite being a first-rate candidate and is recruited for Five-0 from her job as a lifeguard at a hotel pool. Her previous TV credits include “Being Human,” “Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life,” “Banshee,” “Rogue,” “Kingdom,” “New Girl,” and “Secrets and Lies.”
Koale will play Junior Reigns, a former Navy SEAL who just returned from service overseas and is looking for a new job. He appears in an upcoming movie, “Thank You for Your Service.” In New Zealand, he is known for the TV shows “Common Ground,” “The Cul De Sac” and “Harry” as well as the films “The Last Saint” and “Fantail.”
Dale is half Japanese, Rath is half Indian and Koale is of Samoan descent. Their casting may alleviate concerns that Kim and Park would be replaced with non-Asian Pacific Islander actors, but the unequal salary issue remains a hot topic.
Dale, Rath and Koale will join series regulars Chi McBride (Capt. Lou Grover) and Jorge Garcia (Jerry Ortega) and semiregulars Taylor Wily (Kamekona Tupuola), Kimee Balmilero (Dr. Noelani Cunha) and Dennis Chun (Sgt. Duke Lukela).