BY MIKE GORDON / mgordon@staradvertiser.com
Don’t be surprised if you see more of Melanie Griffith on “Hawaii Five-0.”
Griffith returns to “Five-0” Friday night for the second of a three-episode story arc as the mother of Danny “Danno” Williams. But “Five-0” showrunner and executive producer Peter Lenkov said he’s talked to her about working more.
Melanie Griffith stars on “Hawaii Five-0″ as Danno’s mother, Clara. (Courtesy CBS)
“We love her,” Lenkov said recently.
And the feeling is mutual. Griffith’s three episodes as Clara Williams — Feb. 28, March 7 and March 14 — required her to fly back and forth from the mainland to Hawaii but she didn’t mind.
“She said she loved it here,” Lenkov said. “I had lunch with her a couple of weeks ago and she told me that on a day off, she rented a car and drove by herself around the island. She went up to the north shore, went everywhere.”
Lenkov saw Griffith in a play last summer that was written by Scott Caan, who plays Danno on “Five-0.” In “No Way Around But Through,” Caan played Griffith’s son and Lenkov thought the relationship was perfect for his crime drama.
Griffith has honesty, Lenkov said.
“I think she just plays it real,” he said. “She’s believable as Danny’s mom. They have a good chemistry and they like each other and that shows on screen.”
The story arc with Griffith and Caan ends, at least for the moment, in the March 14 episode.
“That really has an arc and that has a really nice end to it,” Lenkov said.
Griffith is best known for her role in the 1988 film “Working Girl,” which earned her a best actress Oscar nomination.
The 22-episode fourth season of “Five-0” is nearing the home stretch and Lenkov said fans can expect a few more surprises.
Marc Dacascos, who plays the villainous (and now mutilated) terrorist Wo Fat, will return for the finale. Also on tap will be singer-turned-actor Nick Jonas, who played a computer hacker in an episode that aired in November. He’ll return in the finale as well, Lenkov said.
“It’s going to be fun,” Lenkov said.
Stay tuned.
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Mike Gordon covers film and television in Hawaii for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Email him at mgordon@staradvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his weekly “Outtakes” column Sundays in the Star-Advertiser.