CBS caused fans’ jaws to collectively drop to the floor when it announced that Hawaii Five-0 would be ending with Season 10. Thus, leaving viewers with the remaining episodes of the current season before they said goodbye. The reboot’s devoted following has been mourning ever since, which has led many to one question. Why is the show really ending?
Hawaii Five-0’s showrunner, Peter M. Lenkov, is weighing in. It is important to remember that Lenkov had expressed his hope that the series would continue for multiple seasons. That was before CBS cancelled the action series. What does he have to say about why Hawaii Five-0 is ending now? Lenkov opened up, telling TVLine:
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.
CBS executives may have felt it was the right time, but fans arguably feel differently. Hawaii Five-0 had been showing no signs of slowing down during Season 10. In fact, it had featured an Easter egg-filled crossover with Magnum P.I. during its current season. Peter M. Lenkov acknowledges that many things came together to cause CBS to make its decision.
It has to be a lot to take in. Hawaii Five-0 vet Daniel Dae Kim, who left the show back in Season 7, has expressed his sadness over the show ending. Now, that ending is drawing ever closer. Originally planned to culminate in a two-hour series finale, Hawaii Five-0’s sendoff was broken into two parts airing over two weeks.
Between Danny being bloodied, MacGyver’s Lance Gross coming aboard, and Chuck Norris showing up, Hawaii Five-0 is going out with lots of excitement. If you were hoping that Hawaii Five-0 would go out with a memorable ending, it seems ready to do so.
Hawaii Five-0 is ending with some awesome ratings beforehand. When the reboot welcomed Chuck Norris for its penultimate chapter, it also welcomed its biggest viewership since Season 8, Episode 15. Am I the only one who senses a Criminal Minds situation? That series also ended this year and saw its ratings go up before it did.
Between the economics and other factors, CBS ended up deciding to end Hawaii Five-0. Peter M. Lenkov did think that the reboot, which debuted back in September 2010, could do another season. Unfortunately for Lenkov and fans, CBS went in another direction. Fans will have to see what the Hawaii Five-0 cast does next.
Meaghan Rath joined the cast of a CBS comedy pilot, so time will tell if she returns to viewers’ screens via the sitcom. As for the rest of the cast, it will be interesting to see what they get up to next.
Hawaii Five-0 will say “aloha” (the title of the episode) this Friday, April 3, at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
