‘Five-0’ has more cases to crack

Steve McGarrett and his "Hawaii Five-0" crime fighters have prevailed again, winning not one, but two hours of prime-time television Friday and earning a series renewal from CBS before the smoke cleared.

The renewal, confirmed Monday by CBS publicists and "Five-0" executive producer Peter Lenkov, came as network number crunchers analyzed the show’s lowest audience of the season: 8.27 million viewers for the second of two episodes that aired back to back, according to Nielsen ratings released by CBS. The first hour did slightly better, drawing 8.57 million viewers.

If previous episodes this season are an indication, though, each "Five-0" episode will pick up about 2.9 million viewers who record the show on Fridays and watch it sometime over the next week, according to CBS, which has tracked the playback numbers through the April 24 episode.

The fifth season was a landmark for the show, which celebrated its 100th episode in November, welcomed "Hawaii Five-0" star Daniel Dae Kim to the director’s chair in February and aired a series high of 25 episodes.

The show’s best performance was Jan. 9, when it drew 11.46 million viewers for a story about the "Five-0" team going undercover to investigate black-market art.

On average, "Five-0" drew 9.12 million viewers an episode during the season — far from the 11.24 million viewers it averaged during its first season, but not as low as the 9.02 million who watched during season three.

Lenkov said Monday that he had been "very" confident of receiving a sixth season. He said it was the product of hard work.

"I think we simply tried to do better than we did the year before, as well as continue to develop the characters …and of course, create some jaw-dropping action sequences," he said.

He was tight-lipped about next season, saying only that it will be like season five, "but much better."

Although production is expected to resume in July, CBS would not say Monday whether it will host another Sunset on the Beach season premiere. The network has made the beach celebration, which attracts thousands of fans from around the world, an annual tradition that includes a red-carpet arrival of the show’s stars.

Blogger Wendie Burbridge, author of the Star-Advertiser’s popular Five-0 Redux, said season five gave fans several high points, from the 100th episode, which rewarded those who knew the show’s most nuanced plot lines, to the episodes that emphasized McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) and sidekick Danno (Scott Caan).

Whether the story is dramatic or funny, fans tune in to see the two characters, who sometimes argue like an old married couple.

"They love seeing Danno and McGarrett stick up for each other and save each other," Burbridge said.

The co-stars are the key to ratings success, she said.

"I would say to keep ratings up, that is going to have to happen every week," Burbridge said. "You have Danno and McGarrett doing something together and the fans are happy, and they will tune in and go nuts over the show."

Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, said 9 million viewers is a strong number for "Five-0." He called "Five-0" a show viewers can count on.

"I think ‘Hawaii Five-0′ does this yeoman’s duty week after week after week of providing really competent, watchable, well-executed television," said Thompson, who watches "Five-0" every week.

It’s also important to note that it’s hard to find a show that works on Friday nights, he said. The fact that it has won its hour every week since CBS moved "Five-0" from Monday nights to Friday nights is worth noting, he said.

"It is not like it is a marginal show," Thompson said. "This show, as long as people keep watching it, there is no reason it couldn’t go on and on and on."