Hawaii Five-0 wrapped its 10-season run back in 2020, just ahead of the massive production shutdowns that stemmed from the COVID lockdown. The show had a strong cast, which included series co-lead Scott Caan (who's now starring on the Fox series Alert). Though he's moved on, Caan still holds a special place in his heart for the CBS procedural. Something that many take note of during his tenure, though, is that he would miss multiple episodes every season. And the actor is now offering up an explanation for that.
Scott Caan appeared in 208 of Hawaii Five-0’s 240 episodes, which is impressive, though it's not surprising that fans would want to know why he didn't show up in more. During an interview with TVLine, his absences were brought up, and Caan provided a personal reason reasoning for not joining those installments:
To clarify that, I could’ve [been in all episodes] and made a lot more money. but I chose not to, so I could spend more time with my family. That’s all that was about. If you notice, the first three years, when I didn’t have a wife and kid, I wasn’t out of any episodes; that only happened as I started to make a family.
The fact that the Ocean's Eleven star could have been in all of the episodes but chose not to so he could spend time with his family is more than understandable. Honestly, he could've also just left the series altogether but clearly wanted to stay on and continue playing Danny "Danno" Williams. So all in all, we can chalk this situation up to his desire for an effective work-life balance.
It should also be said that Scott Caan seemed to give it his all whenever he did appear on the show, and fans would probably like to see him and the cast return at some point. The producers had major plans for Hawaii Five-0 following its cancellation, though it may still be possible for a reunion or crossover to happen in the future. Showrunner Peter M. Lenkov previously revealed that he wanted to have Adam and Kono reunite and, who knows, maybe he's still eager for that to come to fruition.
But what we know for sure right now is that Scott Caan is gearing up for his first major TV role since saying goodbye to Danny Williams. Alert is a Philadelphia-based thriller that centers around a Missing Persons Unit, and early footage gives the impression that it's going to be intense. Also, from a BTS standpoint, I'd imagine that Caan has worked out a schedule with producers that allows him to spend the optimal amount of time with his loved ones. Caan was initially supposed to star in and develop another CBS drama, Topangaland, which would have been his first Hawaii Five-0 follow-up. Unfortunately, progress on that eventually seemed to stall.
You can't keep Scott Caan down for long, though, as the man always bounces back. It's nice to have this clarity regarding why he missed episodes of Hawaii Five-0. We'll see how things progress on that front when his new show hits the small screen.
All 10 seasons of the Hawaii Five-0 reboot are streamable with a Paramount+ subscription. Alert: Missing Persons Unit premieres tonight, Sunday, January 8, at 8 p.m. EST on Fox, and, after that, new episodes will premiere Mondays at 9 p.m. EST. Check out CinemaBlend’s 2023 TV schedule to learn about other freshman series that are arriving this year.
