Category: Television

“NCIS: Hawai‘i,” scheduled for a Sept. 1 launch on CBS, continues to name subsidiary cast members.

The latest additions:

•  Tori Anderson, who will portray Kate Whistler, an ambitious agent with the Defense Intelligence Agency with goals to rise up the professional ladder. Her feisty goals will become evident as the CBS series progresses.

• Kian Talan, who will play Alex Tennant, the oldest child of team leader Jane Tennant, enacted by Vanessa Lachey. He is 16, strong-willed, mature beyond his age, who is struggling with the effects of his parents’ divorce, but a good child nonetheless.

Whether a locally hired actor snags perhaps the seventh key role is yet to be seen. Ya never know, of course, till it happens.

Yasmine Al-Bustam, as Lucy; Jason Antoo, as Ernie; and Noah Mills, as Jessie; were previously announced in key roles, providing, so far, an ensemble of six major players to date.

The team behind the scenes include two execs from the now-shuttered “NCIS: New Orleans,” Christopher Silber and Jan Nash as executive producers and showrunners, with Matt Bosack from “Seal Team” part of the team.

Lachey, the first female to lead an NCIS unit, will be overseeing and exploring crimes and mishaps against the backdrop of Pearl Harbor, with competing familial issues as well. …

Talk about people

Wearing facemasks, Justin and Hailey Bieber popped into TJ’s Sports Bar & Grill one recent night, surprising locals who were there, including entertainer Kekoa Kane, who was singing there. Kane was able to get photos taken with Bieber, who previously has spent time on the Neighbor Islands, renting high-profile, extravagant accommodations. Well, you only live once. …

Bright Kid scholarships

As part of the education core of the I Am a Bright Kid (IABK) Foundation, academic scholarships are awarded to deserving theatrical students.

Grace Rogers, Kalaheo High student, earned the IABK Foundation Performing Arts Award and a cash scholarship of $1,500. She will attend Emerson College this fall, pursuing a BFA in theater education and performance, and is a former participant in the IABK Summer Program in 2020.

“Theater connects people,” says Grace. “That connection is so much more valuable than any silly insecurity I may have, and I love performing because it allows me to experience that brief and beautiful feeling over and over again. I never knew Mr. Bright, but I believe that he shared this belief. As an educator, I can only hope to leave a fraction of the impact that Mr. Bright left on his students and his community.”

Ty Souza-Martinez won a $500 scholarship in the performing arts category and is currently studying vocal performance at Colorado State University in Pueblo.

And Taysha Paige of Kapolei High was awarded $500 and will attend the University of Hawaii West Oahu this fall, and commented, “I know that the rewards lie in the lives I change and the hearts I touch.”

Five years ago, Katie Yoshioka (Baldwin High School, ’17) won an IABK scholarship and completed her BA in education at Pacific University in three years. She graduates this month with a master’s in teaching and will teach kindergarten at West Union Elementary in Hillsboro, OR. “I am very excited to have my own classroom and complete my goals,” she says. …

And that’s “Show Biz.” …

Eric Christian Olsen, who co-stars as Marty Deeks on CBS’ “NCIS: Los Angeles,” has frequently spent his off-season with his family in Hawai‘i, and has publicly endorsed the notion of a spin-off established in the islands.

On “Entertainment Tonight” last week, Olsen expressed interest in a cameo on the new sister show, “NCIS: Hawai‘i,” which is establishing roots in the islands in preparation for its debut this fall. Olsen kiddingly said he was open to joining “Hawai‘i” fulltime, but clearly, he’s bound to continue with “L.A.” which will return to its Sunday slot this fall.

But with the island-based show, it’s highly possible that “L.A.” and “Hawai‘i” could option crossover shows, perhaps not in the Pearl Harbor-based newbie’s first season, but sometime in the distant future. “L.A.” did a crossover with “Hawaii Five-0” previously.

“Hawai‘i” will drop anchor at 9 p.m. Mondays in the fall, with the mothership show
“NCIS,” starring Mark Harmon, switching nights and time slot to 8 p.m. Mondays (moving from Tuesdays) to serve as the lead-in show to the Hawai‘i brand. “L.A.” will be the lead-in for “SEAL Team” at p.m. Sundays. …

The Hawai’i connection

Meantime, Vanessa Lachey, who is portraying Jane Tennent in
the “NCIS: Hawai‘i” newbie, is eager to make her mark here.
“I’m excited to bring a different layer to this role and hopefully inspire this next generation of young girls and women,” she says of her character, the first in the NCIS brand led by a woman.

She is half-Filipino and spent some time n Hawai‘i when her military father served here. “I obviously know the first layer that most people know when they pass through and see the beautiful waters and the beaches,” she was quoted in a CBS promo. “But what I’m interested to show is the depth to the people of Hawai‘i. “There’s so much culture here … hopefully I can portray to everyone and show the beautiful side Hawai‘i.” …

A starting point would be to enrich and ensure the scripts with relevant and realistic tales and characters that reflect the culture and pride that make Hawai‘i  special and credible. The writers need to learn about the ‘aina and instill these virtues in the people on screen. …

The ‘Bull’ shed

CBS recently dropped TV series ‘Bull’ showrunner, Glenn Gordon Caron, for allegedly creating a “toxic” workplace. Thus, the Michael Weatherly-starring courtroom drama is temporarily healing from in-house drama similar to the Peter Lenkov-led “Hawaii Five-0” and “Magnum P.I.” and “MacGuyver” during the past season.

What’s with these out-of-control TV execs? Are calm and orderly productions a thing of the past? With the unrest and messy tenure, “Bull” apparently is shuffling gears to begin planning a new season this fall. Weatherly himself previously had conflicts with a guest actress that still has left some residue about the resolution.

Perhaps all this brouhaha might have been avoided if Weatherly – still remembered for his Tony DiNozzo character on the Harmon-led “NCIS” – made the leap to the Hawai‘i brand, as fan buzz had wanted. Water under the bridge now. …

Name-dropping

Alex O’Loughlin, the Aussie actor who portrayed Steve McGarrett in the now-shuttered “Hawaii Five-0,”apparently still owns a home he purchased for $3.5 million here in 2011 in the midst of his filming of the CBS show here. That issue, and his worth as an actor and entertainer, was raised by Wealthy Gorilla, which reports that O’Loughlin now is worth $25 million. …

Reminder: Henry Kapono hosts “A Tribute to Jimmy Borges” at Blue Note Hawaii on Thursday evening. John Kolivas and his Honolulu Jazz Quartet also participates….

And that’s “Show Biz.” …