For the past couple of years, there have been speculations about Alex O’Loughlin’s possible departure from the hit series “Hawaii Five-0.” But does the events in its season 9 finale ensure he will return in “Hawaii Five-0” season 10?
First off, fans of the police procedural show can relax now as CBS has officially renewed the show and has already ordered the production of “Hawaii Five-0” season 10. But it does not guarantee yet that cast will remain intact for its 2019-2020 run.
Season 9’s 25-episode run concluded with Steve (O’Loughlin) meeting with the wife and son of the latest bad guy they have put away. At first, it seemed like a heartfelt scene with forgiveness as the central topic of their conversation. But everything went south when she pulled out a plastic gun and shot at the direction of Steve, thus, building the suspense for “Hawaii Five-0” season 10.
The finale did not specifically show Steve getting shot. It is important to note that Jerry (Jorge Garcia) was by his side at the time. And as the screen turned to black, fans can only hear Danny (Scott Caan) screaming, “Oh my god!” With season 9 ending on a big cliffhanger, there are more reasons for fans to expect Steve’s return in “Hawaii Five-0” season 10. Though his condition is unknown at this point, it seems unlikely for a long-time running show to just cut out Steve from the picture.
Reports about Steve’s departure have been going on for over a year now, and it actually started because of O’Loughlin himself. The actor previously declared he would be leaving the show after season 9. But he later backpedaled telling ET last year, “I'm opening the door a little bit. A big part of this is that my back injury is doing a lot better after my stem cell treatments. … A couple of years ago, part of my reality was if this stays this way, I can't [do this anymore]. … That sort of shifted a little bit. It's the end of a very long season, and we're almost at 200 episodes. It's tough for me to think about coming back to work right now, but I'm open to negotiations.”
So for now, fans can bet on the entire crew returning in “Hawaii Five-0” season 10. Meanwhile, the reboot series will likely return in fall.