Ed Asner Returning to 'Hawaii Five-0'

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Ed Asner

After 36 years, Ed Asner is returning to Hawaii Five-0.

The Emmy winner (Mary Tyler Moore, Lou Grant) will guest star in a spring episode of the CBS drama, reprising his role of August March, the network announced Thursday.

The episode will for the first time feature original footage from the 1975 episode, "Wooden Model of a Rat," in which Asner originally guest starred, explaining his back story as an up-and-coming world-class smuggler.

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“It is thrilling to, for the first time, merge the original Hawaii Five-0 and our new show by having the classic, versatile and award-winning actor Ed Asner reprise his role of August March, a character Mr. Asner first played 36 years ago. There is no better way to form a bridge between our reboot and the original series,” executive producer Peter Lenkov said in a statement announcing the casting.

Five-0 detectives Alex O'Loughlin and company will lean on March, now a reformed man living in Oahu after serving 30 years in prison for murder, for assistance with a new smuggling case.

Hawaii Five-0, now in its second season, airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on CBS.

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