#HawaiiFive-0 (#H50) Star #AlexOLoughlin Revisits His Season 9 Exit Plan: ‘I’m Prepared to Be Reasonable’

 Another new article from yesterday, with some of our own thoughts at the end ….

Hawaii Five-0 front man Alex O’Loughlin has gone from a “no f–king way” stance on a potential Season 9 to being able to “realistically” see himself still running-and-gunning as Steve McGarrett.

By Matt Webb Mitovich

TV Line

22 March 2018

Almost a year-and-a-half ago, the Aussie actor echoed to TVLine his stance that he  “absolutely” would turn in his badge after the current Season 8, explaining:

“[Five-0] is an action show, I’m the main guy, and I defy anybody to do what I’ve done for as long I’ve done it and hold out the way I have. I was a fit, strong, healthy guy when I started the show, and I still am, but you sustain what you sustain.”

But in speaking with TVLine this Thursday — to preview his directorial debut, for Five-0‘s Friday, March 30 episode — O’Loughlin seemed more amenable to re-signing, with his contract due to explore this spring. So what changed since November 2016? Did he get a second wind?

“I don’t know that I’d say I got a ‘second wind’…,” he countered.

“But is there a way that I can realistically see a Season 9 being a part of my life? I think so.”

In the event that CBS aims to renew the procedural (which currently ranks fifth in the 18-to-49 demo out of the network’s 13 dramas), O’Loughlin figures he will need “a little help with scheduling” (e.g. juggling his workload as No. 1 on the call sheet with his role as father to the pair of fast-growing tykes he raises with wife Malia), all while he continues to manage the “pretty radical back injury” that has dogged him for years and still is treated with weekly PT.

“To be honest with you, mate, if you had asked me [about re-signing] two years ago, my answer would have been, like, ‘No f’–king way.’ I want a quality of life, and I want to be with my family,” O’Loughlin asserted. But since then, he half-chuckled,

“I’ve been able to put Humpty together again.”

“I am still very tired at the end of the season, and after almost 200 episodes of television,” he added.

“But I can sort of quietly and sensibly sit back and go, ‘There’s a version where if CBS can make a deal and be reasonable, then I’m prepared to be reasonable, too.’”

And while O’Loughlin makes clear that his actual wife and kids come first, he also recognizes the extended workplace family that Five-0 employs.

“It’s a great show and a lot of people love it, but more importantly, we keep so many people employed in Hawaii who might otherwise be stacking boxes at a grocery mart,” he said.

“It’s hard to get work out here and this feeds a lot of families, so it’s a really good thing. It’s really, really important.”

“I’m sure there are [actors] that don’t let that affect them, it’s not part of their negotiation, but it is something I think about,” he continued.

“I come from a working-class family and the people I work with mean a lot to me. They’re really our ohana, so… if  we can make it all work, they are some of the reasons why it would be great.”

My thoughts

• This is not really “new” news. Alex have said as much about it all in the Watch article last year in May already.
• The weird level of nastiness about this article amongst the people on social media reached an ugly new high – or rather low for me.
• Explaining ALL the reasons why you would consider to, or are changing your mind from 1½ years ago, seems quite reasonable to me. Especially if one of those reasons was debilitating injury problems and you have had real serious problems with trying to cope with handling the pain of injuries in the past. And that this time around you have had the choice or wisdom of better treatment and groundbreaking options to recover from it, rather that just killing the pain with addiction.
  
• And if monetary reward and better terms are part of it, I hardly doubt if any of us would not do the same and consider it as part of the deal. Any job counselor would tell you that you need to know your worth and ask to be rewarded accordingly.
  
• Since the early days it has not been a secret that Alex cares a lot about Hawaii and the welfare of the people of Hawaii and it is one of the many reason why we adore him – so making the show’s job creation a part of his consideration, is not a really mind blowing new fact of martyrdom, as some would suggest.
• We here at Intense Study can fully understand and appreciate why Alex would want to negotiate more time off from the show, BUT it is also very sad. I personally tolerate the mediocre writing for the show, of ‘numerous dropped story lines‘, of ‘unrealistic liver transplant recoveries’ and of ‘annoyingly stupid restaurant ideas’ (just to artificially create some bromance connection that has gone lost in nasty bickering a long long time ago), just because it is Alex job – with less of Alex in it, it might just become too much ….. or too little. 😦
  
• And every year there are less and less real celebrity exposure or interviews, and less and less new real media articles about Alex as an actor, other than immediate news from or about Hawaii Five-0.  And we are really struggling with the fact that we struggle to support Alex’s only project at this time, with the present status quo of it. And that unfortunately makes us sad ….. and maybe not very good fangirls at the moment.
  
• We are, with cautious anticipation, looking forward to Alex long-awaited directorial debut next Friday. Maybe, just maybe, in it there will be a breath of fresh air or a small start to changing the show’s status quo and /or Alex’s stagnating or limited profile as an artist while being only on this show. There is always hope ….