USA Network
"Pacific Blue" cast members, back row from left, Paula Trickey,
Mario Lopez, Jim Davidson, Darlene Vogel and Jeff Stearns,
and front row from left, Amy Hunter and Shanna Moakler.

‘Pacific Blue’
may relocate to
Hawaii

The hot TV show is filming
two episodes and a pilot here and
is considering moving
here permanently

By Tim Ryan
Star-Bulletin

Bikes, bikinis and bad guys invade Oahu for 10 days beginning Monday as "Pacific Blue," USA Network's highest rated one-hour drama, begins filming two episodes and a pilot here, spending $1.5 million in the process.

The North Hall Productions show, based at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, is filming here because executives are considering either creating a new Hawaii-based series or relocating the 4-year-old "Pacific Blue" to Oahu, said Bill Nuss, executive producer.

After this season -- the show's fifth --101 "Pacific Blue" episodes will have been filmed.

Waikiki "is the next best beach to Santa Monica, so filming here is a natural progression for the show," Nuss said. "Pacific Blue" currently is filmed on location in Santa Monica and Venice in California.

If the show does relocate to Honolulu, story line changes would be minimal, but expect to have some of the show's main characters transferred to the fictional Oahu Police Department.

"Not much would change because we're a cop drama at heart," Nuss said.

A major factor in facilitating a move is the show receiving the "same economic model" as "Baywatch Hawaii," Nuss said. That would include hotel, travel, and ground transportation contributions as well as continued concessions from the unions.

"Pacific Blue" episodes cost about $850,000 each.

Nuss stressed that some financial concessions from the unions and Screen Actor's Guild -- like the ones the show receives in Los Angeles -- were a major reason the production was able to film in Hawaii.

The two-part episode to be filmed on Oahu is called "Blue Hawaii" where two "Pacific Blue" cops -- Bobby Cruz played by Mario Lopez and Russ Granger played by Jeff Stearns -- are in Hawaii to train the Oahu police department's bike patrol.

The two officers back into an undercover drug case when they're mistaken for drug buyers at a strip bar.

They then team up with four "local" undercover cops and all of them work the case.

Superstar wrestler Shawn Michaels co-stars as bad guy Michael Shawn.

Six days of filming will be at the Hilton Hawaiian Village; four days on the North Shore.