1. “Our Steve McGarrett is a little different,” says Alex O’Loughlin, whose detective maintains the old character’s stoicism, but plays by his own rules when he agrees to head up a new anti-crime squad in Oahu. “In the old show, you didn’t know much about the character, whereas in our show … you learn a lot about McGarrett in the very beginning — stuff about his father, about his family, about his estrangement from them, about his military background, about the level of training that he’s done.”
2. “Hawaii is the fifth character on the show. Hawaii is the fifth Beatle,” says executive producer Alex Kurtzman about the role the 50th state plays in the new series.
3. Though “Book ‘em, Danno!” is one of TV’s most memorable catchphrases, actor Scott Caan, who plays Detective Danny “Danno” Williams, says he “purposely didn’t go back and look at too much of the old show. I wanted to start fresh, and I didn’t want to have any old ideas.” In the new version, Danno, a cop from New Jersey newly relocated to Hawaii to be closer to his young daughter, is promoted from sidekick to full-on foil for McGarrett.
“We felt we needed McGarrett to play off somebody,” explains executive producer Peter Lenkov. “So by design, it was … McGarrett clearly leading the unit and Danno being his right-hand man, but really being an equal in terms of his experience and what he brings to the table.”
