Television Q&A: Why have shows set in Hawaii been wiping out?
Published in Entertainment News
You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: In recent years “Magnum P.I.,” “NCIS: Hawai’i” and “Rescue: HI-Surf” (all based in Hawaii) have been canceled. Were there various reasons for cancellation or has Hawaii become too expensive? I can't think of any current programs taping in Hawaii.
A: Georja Skinner, Creative Industries Division Chief Officer of the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said, “The cancellation of the shows you are referring to are due to various factors including production costs, network priorities, industry strikes and tax credits.”
In addition, the department in March announced “a robust production slate” including Season 2 of the Netflix series “Untamed” (after a first season was made in Canada) and the movies “Protecting Jared,” with Hawaii’s own Jason Momoa, and “Jumanji 3.” And the announcement said “Hawaii is focused on modernizing its film tax credit and cap, as well as ensuring infrastructure supports evolving production expectations.”
Hawaii has certainly had a long history as a TV series location, including the three series you mentioned as well as the original “Magnum,” two incarnations of “Hawaii Five-0,” “Lost,” “Hawaii,” “Hawaiian Heat” and “One West Waikiki.” (Vintage TV viewers may also remember “Hawaiian Eye,” but it was apparently shot at Warner Bros. studios in California.)
Q: My mother and I have been on the lookout for a DVD release of the 2020 Hulu movie “Palm Springs” because of the awards it won. I recently thought it had finally happened, but when I took a closer look at the DVDs available on Amazon they all appear to be Region 2. As far as I can tell there is no Region 1 DVD release for the U.S. Can you shed some light on the current streaming to DVD likelihood/process?
A: It depends. As I said some time back, distributors are not as interested in disc releases when consumers are more likely to embrace streaming and digital downloads There can also be rights issues, such as ones involving music or studio ownership, which keep a movie from disc.
Streaming services may also want to keep some titles off the retail market so eager viewers will get a subscription; Hulu even offers a “Palm Springs” commentary track, a DVD-like extra to entice viewers even more.
But there are still people like you — and me — who would rather have a physical disc instead of a download. There just aren’t enough of us for some titles.
By the way, since we were talking about locations in the previous question, “Palm Springs” was not shot in Palm Springs.
Q: I don’t have a question. I just wanted to point out that this year is the 50th anniversary of “The Bionic Woman.”
A: Yes, it is. The series starring Lindsay Wagner premiered on Jan. 14, 1976, and continued into 1978, first on ABC and then on NBC. (There were also reunion movies and, in 2007, a short-lived reboot.) The show was, of course, a spinoff of “The Six Million Dollar Man” (1974-78), with Lee Majors; Wagner first appeared on that series in January 1975. And it was all inspired by the novel “Cyborg” by Martin Caidin.
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