Why CBS Canceled Hawaii Five-0

For 10 seasons, the rebooted “Hawaii Five-0” was a rock-solid Nielsen ratings performer for CBS. A combo nostalgia play for Baby Boomers who grew up watching Jack Lord and James MacArthur bust perps in and around Honolulu, and a stylish procedural targeted at fans of the network’s popular “CSI” and “NCIS” franchises, “Hawaii Five-0” delivered consistently with its wildly appealing cast and storylines that explored its characters’ pasts without ever getting bogged down in drawn-out story arcs. “Hawaii Five-0” knew what its fans wanted, and never deviated from its tried-and-true formula.

When a series hits the Nielsen sweet spot week in and week out, you figure the network would bend over backwards to keep it running until people stop watching. This is what Fox continues to do with “The Simpsons,” now in its 36th season, and how NBC has rolled with its “Law & Order” franchise. This makes CBS’ decision to retire “Hawaii Five-0” while it was pulling down its highest Nielsen ratings share ever (9.7) and ranking 20th overall somewhat puzzling. Oftentimes, long-running series get more expensive due in part to stars upping their salary demands (Daniel Dae Kim says he left the show over a pay dispute), but there were multiple reasons “Hawaii Five-0” came to an end in 2020.

When CBS officially announced five years ago that “Hawaii Five-0” would be surrendering its shield, it issued a statement lauding the series’ long-term ratings success, network-friendly creatives, and committed cast. Peter M. Lenkov, who developed the reboot with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, responded graciously, making this all seem like a mutual agreement — which it was. Kind of.

In an interview with TVLine prior to the airing of the series finale, Lenkov opened up about the decision to call it quits. Unsurprisingly, he would’ve been happy to keep it going. Per Lenkov:

“I thought we had a chance of maybe going another season — every season, I thought for some reason the show would end — but I think the network just thought it was a good time. […] There are so many different things that factor into this — economics, everything — and I think they felt it was the right time.”

While there’s no hint of acrimony in Lenkov’s interview with TVLine, he did indicate that there was one significant reason for the show’s cancellation: Alex O’Loughlin, who starred as the brawny Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, was done chasing down bad guys for 20-plus episodes a season. Though there are certainly worse places on Earth to shoot a police procedural, the physical grind had been getting to O’Loughlin. And before you start attacking the guy for being a pampered TV star, maybe hear him out on just how banged up he was after 10 seasons as McGarrett.

According to Deadline, O’Loughlin had been angling to depart “Hawaii Five-0” prior to season 10 on account of a serious back injury he suffered early in the series’ run. The star backed this up and then some in an interview with TVLine, claiming:

“I’ve blown both shoulders, one knee. I’ve had my elbow tendon reattached. I’ve got bulging discs in my neck and my back. I don’t know where to start. I’m a mess, and a lot of it’s been really, really hard. I think back to when I was doing most of my own stunts in the first few years — that was not a great idea. But the physical exhaustion of working with injury and working huge hours day after day, year after year […] The whole show has been extremely physically daunting. That’s one of the things I’m trying to figure out at the moment now; I don’t know how much longer I can do it.”

Lenkov told TVLine that O’Loughlin’s exit needn’t have been the end for “Hawaii Five-0.” There was talk of bringing new recurring character Lincoln Cole (Lance Gross) on full time, but when Scott Caan made plain his desire to follow O’Loughlin out the door, that plan was kiboshed.

Ultimately, Lekov diplomatically laid the blame for the show’s cancellation at the feet of the network. “I believe Alex wanted this to be his last year,” Lenkov told TVLine. “He didn’t have a contract […] but he didn’t have one last year either, and a deal was made to extend one year at the last minute, right before Upfronts [in May 2019]. If the studio had wanted to bring back the show for season 11, I have to believe they would have tried to get Alex to stay. But it’s now moot.”

Obviously, there was some fan discontent over the beloved series ending when it was more popular than ever (a similar scenario played out recently with “Blue Bloods”), but 10 seasons is a heckuva run. There will always be more procedurals to scratch that crime-solving itch television viewers have had since the early days of the medium.