Hawaii Five-O

Right now you can watch Hawaii Five-O in the US on Paramount Plus Premium — and it moves faster than most of the genre's competition. Every one of its 12 seasons holds up. 159 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. No filler scenes, no spinning wheels between the action. Available now on Paramount Plus Premium — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Hawaii Five-O arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The choreography in Hawaii Five-O serves the story instead of interrupting it. Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. Jack Lord portrayed Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett, the head of a special state police task force which was based on an actual unit that existed under martial law in the 1940s. Jack Lord and Herman Wedemeyer lead a cast that gives the action real stakes. It ran for 12 seasons (1968–1980), and the writing holds up across every one of them. The geography of every set piece in Hawaii Five-O is legible, which is rarer in the genre than it should be. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

The genre has a long history of front-loading its best moments — Hawaii Five-O is not one of those. Fans of S.W.A.T. Will recognise the sensibility here immediately. 12 seasons is a lot, but the quality holds all the way through. Jack Lord anchors the chaos with real screen presence. Every set piece here is doing more than one job at once.

Hawaii Five-O wrapped up in 1980, created by Leonard Freeman — and 12 seasons are available to watch from start to finish. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.