Thanks to her sharp eye and tenacious love for H50, #Five0Redux blogger and Star Advertiser writer Wendie Burbridge managed to scoop all the entertainment sites today with her confirmation that recurring actors  Taylor Wily, Kimee Balmilero and Dennis Chun have been promoted to the main cast of Hawaii Five-0.

This is fantastic news on several fronts.  First of all because all three actors, especially in the case of Taylor and Dennis, have paid their dues.  Taylor first appeared in the Pilot, as a confidential informant who was only supposed to be in that one episode.  He was such a success he recurred again and again and has become a true fixture in the Five-0 Ohana.  I was thrilled last season when Taylor finally got a face shot in the opening credits even if he wasn’t listed as main cast.  It’s about time that changed and he was promoted.

Dennis Chun… what can I say about this man?  He is the warmest, most genuine man I have ever met.  It’s been said over and over that he is the ambassador of Aloha for any Five-0 fan who’s lucky enough to meet him and I can’t stress enough how true that is.  He is a personal bridge from our show back to the original Five-O, as he is the son of Kam Fong, who played Chin Ho Kelly in the original.  We first saw Duke in Season 1, Episode 12, Hana ‘a’a Makehewa, and for 77 episodes, Duke has been a steadying presence to our sometimes crazy Five-0 team.  When he was shot by Curt Stoner in the Hookman episode (S3E15) it was the most traumatic thing in an episode full of trauma!   I can’t tell you how thrilled it makes me to know we’re going to get to see even more of Duke and the wonderful man who plays him.

Kimee Balmilero’s Noelani hasn’t been around as long as Kamekona and Duke but she’s more than proved her worth to the Ohana.  She’s an outstanding ME, taking over for Max when he left to work in Africa.  And like Max was there for Steve when he needed him, Noelani has proved her personal worth by always being right there to help fix up the team when they’re in need of immediate first aid.  Masi Oka was promoted to main cast after his first year on Five-0 and I’m really happy TPTB have followed this tradition and promoted Kimee after her first year as well.  She’s been a fantastic addition to the show since her first appearance.

I must admit, after the departure of Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, I was a bit low about the prospects of my favorite show.  I was looking forward to the new season but the excitement that I usually feel when filming for a new season starts just wasn’t as strong as usual.  Then the blessing was held and it was kept private with no videos and only a couple of photos.  I wasn’t feeling the excitement of previous years.

But this news, along with the news a couple of days ago about the promotion of Ian Anthony Dale and the addition of Meaghan Rath and Beulah Koale my excitement level has greatly improved.  I can’t wait to see all the great new stories all these changes will bring, new stories that will propel my favorite show into another stellar season and hopefully, many more after that too.

Please check out Wendie’s article about these promotions and don’t forget to check out her #Five0Redux every week.  She’s the best there is and her articles are always worth reading.  If you’re a Five-0 fan, her articles are not to be missed.

Aloha… Malama Pono

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/07/21/features/five-0-redux-hawaii-actors-chun-wily-balmilero-join-main-cast/