Corona | Coming Attractions

Hawaii 5-O supporting cast members Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim have been let go from the long-running CBS police procedural series. The two had been holding out for a bump in their salaries equivalent to fellow cast members Scott Caan and Alex O'Loughlin. The network didn't want to move any higher, which trade magazine Variety reports would have been a difference of 10-15% more.

What's causing many entertainment watchers to raise their eyebrows is that both Dae Kim and Park are Hawaii 5-O's top-billed Asian-American actors. The loss of both actors to what should be a visably rich Hawaiian cast is raising the question of whether CBS is guilty of valuing non-white cast members at a discount while the white Hawaii 5-O players like O'Laughlin and Caan get more money.

CBS made a point of graciously acknowledging and thanking Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim for their time portaying cast members Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua in 168 episodes and seven seasons.

"They will always be ohana to us, we will miss them and we wish them both all the best," said Hawaii 5-O executive producer Peter Lenkov.

The departure of both characters will be addressed in Hawaii 5-O's eighth season premier this fall in as yet undisclosed manner.