Plans for CBS’s remake of the classic Jack Lord series, Hawaii Five-0, are moving right along. Last month, it was announced that Alex O’Loughlin (Three Rivers) would be playing Detective Steve McGarrett and Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) would be playing Detective Chin Ho Kelly.
Now, fellow TV veterans Scott Caan, Jean Smart, and James Marsters will be joining them on the big island for the CBS show pilot.
Caan, who you may recognize from Ocean’s Eleven and its sequels, will be playing McGarrett’s right hand man, Danny “Danno” Williams. In the original Hawaii Five-0, the character was played by James MacArthur. According to THR, in this new version, Danno is a former New Jersey cop who transfers to Hawaii to be closer to his seven-year-old daughter. He’s initially leery of his maverick boss but soon grows to appreciate his results.
Because of a prior commitment to HBO’s Entourage, Caan will be a guest star in the pilot. If Hawaii Five-0 becomes a regular show, he’ll become a series regular.
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Smart (Designing Women) will be playing the Governor of Hawaii, Pat Jameson. In the original series, McGarrett reported directly Governor Paul Jameson, played by Richard Denning. With the great strides in politics that women have made over the past 40 years, executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Peter Lenkov reportedly felt it was appropriate to make the Governor a female this time.
Smart recently won an Emmy for her work on Samantha Who? and was nominated for two Emmys for her role as First Lady Martha Logan on FOX’s 24. She’ll also be billed as a guest star in the Hawaii Five-0 pilot.
Meanwhile, it’s been announced on Marsters’ official website that he’ll be playing a major bad guy in the pilot. No word if it’ll be a recurring role or if he’ll continue past the pilot. The original show’s ongoing villain was Wo Fat (Khigh Dheigh). McGarrett finally caught him in the last episode but it was hinted that he’d soon be on the loose once again.
The pilot is shaping up to be a big treat for vampire fans. Marsters of course played a vampire on Buffy and and Angel and O’Loughlin played one on Moonlight a couple years ago. Additionally, Kim was a recurring character on Angel’s final season when Marsters joined the cast.
What do you think? Do you like the way the new Hawaii Five-0 pilot is shaping up? With this cast and amount of buzz that’s being generated, do you think there’s a chance CBS won’t order a series?
Jack Lord was 48 when he began Hawaii Five-O. Alex O. is 33. From the opening credits, you know everything is centered around Jack Lord. He was a very strong presence. Alex seems a little more easy going. CBS wants it to be different but not too different. In the short clip I saw from the pilot, the cast shows more personality than the original. I like Scott Cann as an actor but he and Alex don’t strike me as the best choice for the roles. However, I will try to keep an open mind. The cast is semi politically… Read more »
Oh, I am so hoping that this new ‘Five-O’ will rekindle the wonderful memories of the original series and introduce it to a whole new generation of fans. And, hey, Alex O’Laughlin in the lead? WOW! CBS needs to pull out all the stops to make this show a success. They owe that to Alex for deserting his ‘Moonlight’ series. We ‘Moonlight’ fans will never forgive them for that! Jean Smart’s always a winner and the other cast members have been successful in their series, so it looks like a great team. Hopefully, they will add more native Hawaiians to… Read more »
I THINK A NEW HAWAII 5-O WOULD BE GREAT BUT NOT WITHOUT HAWAIIAN ACTORS AND A PILOT MOVIE ITS SENSELESS TO HAVE A T V SHOW ABOUT HAWAII WITHOUT HAWAIIAN ACTORS
Don’t think you nay-sayers understand how good this series will be for the state of Hawaii. Yeah, it’s tough to re-make the original cast and scenery of Hawaii 50, but the flavor of the original can definitely still ring true because Hawaii is such a unique place. Different problems arise here than on the mainland.. and how they are dealt with is what made the original show attractive.
Leave 50 alone. Your will never be able to come near the original series and cast. I’ll continue to watch the original.
If they do the remake, I’ll be more than happy to let the producers use the original car that all the bad guys used in the series back in 1968. It’s the ’68 Ford Fairlane 500 convertible furnished by Ford Motor Co. and it was used in 6 of the 1968 episodes, including the first episode that Jack Lord said, “Book ’em Danno.” The car would serve as a direct connection to the original series. My Fairlane was used in the following episodes: No Blue Skies; 24 Karat Kill; Deathwatch; Up Tight; Tiger by the Tail; By the Numbers.
Although it does sound faily interesting, I agree with Adam. The case and plot does sound interesting but it only shatters me as i keep hoping they’ll realise their mistake in not picking up Moonlight. At least a movie please!!!!
Please leave Hawaii Five-O alone, why even call it Hawaii Five-O not even a trace of a Hawaiian having a part in this series…and you can watch the ORIGINAL Hawaii Five-O on channel 11 every evening at 7pm…
Where do you live bb? I’m in Tucson and it only comes on, most of the time, on Channel 8, at 2 in the morning. Most of the waves have been cut out to add more commercials. We own the first four seasons and are getting the rest from Netflix, one at a time.
CBS wants to put Alex OLoughlin on a permentant show of theirs so they’ll never bring back Moonlight. I don’t know if the show will be any good or not, I might tune in depending on when it is on. But, CBS needs to realize that the fans of Moonlight won’t rest until there is at least a movie made to finish the plot.
I certainly hope this one is a hit. Have followed O’Loughlin since his days on Moonlight. Love him – love him – love him and it is about time they remade such a great series.
[…] With Scott Caan on board as well suddenly Hawaii Five-O is a show I can start to get behind.” TVSeriesFinale: “The pilot is shaping up to be a big treat for vampire fans. Marsters of course played a […]
I will not even bother to watch. If I want to see Five-O, I will watch the dvd’s of the original show. The whole idea of this re-make is horrid. The reason so many of the classic shows are coming out on dvd is so that we can preserve them and watch them, as they were meant to be, in their original version, over and over again. Make a show that takes place in Hawaii, sure. But don’t call it Hawaii Five-O. Don’t use our beloved characters’ names. (Actually, you could use them as an homage. That would be cool.)… Read more »
Let the Show rest in peace. It’s a waste of money to remake an original so why don’t they try to do something that’s never been done before or is Hollywood having a brain drain? It won’t last a year, just like the remakes of Adam 12 and Dragnet that have tried and failed. And they’re trying to remake “Streets of San Francisco” which is also a waste of time. You can’t make TV Shows like that anymore so stop trying.
Hawaii 5-0–not so much, cast sounds kinda cool==However, Jean Smart is a definite plus and MARSTERS as the bad guy–impossible Not to be a fine square-off! He has consistently presented himself as a hard-working, team player who can bring a lot to any place he gets dropped! Would love to be able to see this professional doing his turns in Hawaii. Thanks for the happy heads up!
I think that it is a sure show for next fall. With such a talented cast and awesome direction, it will be a hit. I can’t wait to see Alex O’Loughlin again on TV in a show that will catapult his career to new heights!