'Hawaii Five-0' Season 8 News, Air Date: First Look Photos Feature New Cast Members Meaghan Rath and Beulah Koale
The upcoming eighth season of "Hawaii Five-0" will be welcoming new recruits to the team. Meaghan Rath and Beulah Koale have been tapped to play Tani Rey and Junior Reigns, respectively.
As previously reported, Rath and Koale were brought in to fill the void that Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim left. Park and Kim chose to depart the series, which they had been a part of since season 1, after being denied salary parity with their white co-stars.
CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl assured fans that the network did everything it could to convince Park and Kim to stay on the show, including offering them a salary increase. However, it looks like it was not enough, as Park and Kim are not reprising their respective roles as Kono Kalakaua and Chin Ho Kelly in season 8.
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Now, fans of "Hawaii Five-0" will say hello to new additions to the team. Entertainment Weekly was able to obtain first look photos of Rath and Koale on the set of the show. Rath plays Tani, a lifeguard who was kicked out of the Police Academy despite being one of the best. McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) will ask Tani to join the Five-0 team.
"The opportunity to come together as a family came at the right time in their lives when they really needed it the most, and Tani is very similar to the way McGarrett collected the team in the first place," executive producer Peter Lenkov told EW. "This is somebody who was kicked out of the Police Academy, somebody who clearly could be a good cop if given the opportunity, and McGarrett comes to her when really she needs it the most."
On the other hand, Koale's Junior is an ex-Navy SEAL who asks McGarrett for a job. And while they are alike in many ways, Lenkov explained that they differ when it comes to a major aspect.
"Where McGarrett is very much of a rule-breaker, Junior's more of a sort of by-the-book kind of guy," Lenkov said.
"Hawaii Five-0" season 8 will premiere on Sept. 29 at 9 p.m. EDT on CBS.
