‘Hawaii Five-0’ Promotes Chi McBride To Series Regular

Chi McBride has been promoted to series regular on Hawaii Five-0.

The 52-year-old Chicago native made his first appearance in the fourth season premiere, which aired on September 27. McBride plays SWAT Captain Lou Grover, who initially has a love/hate relationship with Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarret. After the two are forced to work together on an assignment ordered by the governor, they become friends.

“Well, I know this sounds corny but the only thing I ever wanted in my career was to be on CBS, the home of my idol Jackie Gleason.” McBride said. “I finally made it to the Tiffany network on ‘Golden Boy,’ shooting scenes on the same stage where ‘The Honeymooners’ was filmed. CBS graciously invited me to be a member of the cast of ‘Hawaii Five-0,’ and it’s been wonderful.”

Hawaii Five-0 executive producer Peter M. Lenkov was thrilled to add Chi McBride as a series regular.

“After his first guest spot, we knew we had something special here,” Lenkov said. “He just fit seamlessly into the fabric of ‘Hawaii Five-0’ and viewers are enjoying the spirited, if sometimes antagonistic, interaction between him and McGarrett. We are so thrilled to welcome Chi into our Ohana.”

Chi McBride, whose nickname is derived from his hometown, is best known for his role as Principal Steven Harper on Boston Public. The series ran for four seasons from 2000 to 2004. McBride also had a main role as private investigator Emerson Cod on Pushing Daisies. He also had a recurring role as pharmaceutical company owner Edward Vogler on House, as well as a recurring role as Garland Brice on HawthoRNe. McBride starred as Detective Don Owen on the short-lived Golden Boy, which ran for one 13-episode season before being canceled in May.

In May, CBS moved Hawaii Five-0 from Mondays at 10 pm to Fridays at 9 pm.

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