Last year was an eventful and memorable one for Alex O’Loughlin. Although 2009 came to a close with the end of Three Rivers, in 2010 our goodnatured and optimistic Aussie came back with a bang! Here’s a look at last year’s highlights.

January 9 – Nina Tassler tells the TCA members assembled in Pasadena for the Winter Press Tour that Three Rivers is indeed canceled. The head of CBS Entertainment also confirms that the network is still interested in working with Alex O’Loughlin and that it is looking for a new show for him.

While Alex is in Australia enjoying some well-deserved R&R, fans are passing the time by speculating on what his next project might be. The Criminal Minds spinoff and James Patterson’s Private are mentioned.

January 14 - A laid-back Alex, sporting a beard, does a photoshoot for the Sunday Telegraph’s Sunday Magazine on a Sydney rooftop. In a behind-the-scenes video the Aussie shares his thoughts on the downside of fame.

“You don’t necessarily change, but people around you start to change because they think you are going change.”

January 15 – James Hibberd reports in his Live Feed blog that CBS has given the go ahead for a Hawaii Five-0 remake pilot penned by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Peter Lenkov. No other names are mentioned.

January 17 – Three intriguing tweets that have fans on the edge of their seats precede Michael Ausiello’s report on EW.com that “CBS really wants to do another series with him”. More specifically, the network would like to see him as the lead in the recently greenlit Hawaii Five-0 reboot.

February 10 – Ending weeks of nail biting and speculation (and what the actor will later confirm were “lengthy negotiations”), The Hollywood Reporter announces that Alex O’Loughlin has closed a deal with CBS to star as Steve McGarrett in Hawaii Five-0.

February 16 – Alex picks up his refinished Sporty from Cro Customs Cycles. He and Cro have provided us with a peek at a side of Alex that we just love and we’re immensely grateful! In his own review of 2010, Cro posts:

By now, most know Alex from the remake of Hawaii 5-0. He’s an Aussie, so when I heard he may be the cat saying “Book em Dano” I told him he better make us Americans proud.

Alex was probably the best client you can have. He knew what he wanted, but allowed me room to throw some “Cro” things in there. He’s an avid 2 wheeler and not a fly by night hipster. Loves riding, and man did he put this bike through the ringer. He rides the piss out of it. To spite the Hollywood gig, he is a stand up dude, works hard, loves bikes and life. It was a pleasure building the bike and making a new friend, and shit, he made a movie with J Lo!! I visited him on set one day, and yes, she is hot!

March 8 – Shooting for the Hawaii Five-0 pilot commences in sunny Oahu! Although CBS has decreed a media blackout, eager fans are able to follow the filming’s progress exceptionally well, thanks to the social media, locals, paparazzi and the Hawaiian press. Unfortunately, the articles posted by the Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin are no longer available online since both papers merged into the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in June 2010.

March 11 – The cast is shooting John McGarrett’s funeral scene at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (a.k.a. Punchbowl National Cemetery) and this results in the first paparazzi pictures of Alex as Steve McGarrett. The Lieutenant Commander looks dashingly handsome in his Navy dress blues despite the heat and humidity!

March 28 – With the pilot having wrapped on March 27, Alex’s focus is now fully on press and publicity for The Back-up Plan, whose release date of April 21 is drawing near. A multi-day media event kicks off with a portrait session and a Q&A session with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. It marks the start of a publicity offensive that includes Twitter, Facebook, online games, sweepstakes, and even yellow cabs.

April 14-16 – The pre-release activities for The Back-up Plan are in full swing and CBS has arranged five television appearances in New York City for our hottie! Of course, he is also snapped by paparazzi on his first evening in the Big Apple and goodnaturedly signs autographs.

First on his agenda on the 15th is an autograph session for fans followed by an interview on The Early Show. Then, filling in for fellow Aussie and chef Curtis Stone, he joins The Today Show’s “Guys Tell All” panel where he has fun answering questions from female viewers.

Up bright and early again the next morning, Alex appears on PIX11 Morning News, whose interviewer shows signs of acute adoritis – and who can blame her? He is also photographed by paparazzi when he arrives and later leaves the studio building. Later that morning he goes on to charm two more TV personalities: The Today Show hosts Kathie Lee and Hoda.

During his stay in NYC, he also tapes an appearance that is captivating and adorable on the Rachael Ray Show. The segment is airs on April 21.

April 19 – Never having been on Jimmy Kimmel Live before, Alex initially seems quite nervous but goes on to give an entertaining and funny interview at the El Capitan Theatre back in Hollywood.

April 20 – Australians in Film organizes a screening of The Back-up Plan at LA’s Harmony Gold Threater and Alex is present to answer questions from the audience afterwards.

April 21 – The US premiere of The Back-up Plan is a big day not just for Alex and his leading lady Jennifer Lopez, but also for his fans! Thousands of women have waited impatiently for over a year to see their hero in his first big US feature. Teased by hundreds of photos taken during a month of location shooting in paparazzi-ridden New York City the previous summer and more recently by countless video clips and interviews, fans the world over are excited and anxious. Possibly more so than Alex himself.

Looking relaxed, happy and stylish (“because every cheese farmer is ripped and buff”) in a charcoal Jil Sander suit paired with a striped tie, gold-accented cream shirt and black boots, Alex appears unfazed by the solid wall of paparazzi flanking the red carpet at the Westwood Village Theatre. As considerate as always, he also spends time chatting, signing autographs and posing for pictures for his own fans. After the screening, the festivities continue at the after party at the W Hotel.

April 26 – En route to London for the UK premiere of The Back-up Plan, a smiling and goateed Alex, looking devilishly handsome, is snapped by a paparazzo at LAX for the first time.

April 28 – Alex, Jennifer and director Alan Poul attend The Back-up Plan premiere at London’s famous Leicester Square. Alex, who has never before experienced a London premiere, is surprised at the scale of the reception:

It’s amazing – look at this, I’ve never been on a pink carpet before. It’s wonderful, it’s great to be here. I really appreciate all the fans and all the support. This is incredible!

May 13 – Alex shows up at Australians in Film’s 2010 Breakthrough Awards ceremony held at the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills. The event honors actress Bella Heathcote, who is awarded the Heath Ledger Scholarship, and Ryan Kwanten and Chris Hemsworth, who each received a Breakthrough Award.

May 17 – Two days before CBS’s upfront presentation, the news spreads that the network has picked up the Hawaii Five-0 reboot! The feedback from the islands is positive.

May 19 – Alex and his fellow Hawaii Five-0 cast members attend the CBS Upfront at Carnegie Hall and the after party at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

In its primetime schedule release, CBS announces that the show will air on Mondays at 10 pm, bumping CSI: Miami to Sunday nights. This puts Hawaii Five-0 up against Castle and Chase.

After the upfront, the first promos are released online: a BTS preview, and the main title sequence which is later revised for the series premiere. TV promos start airing on the network a few days later.

May 20 – The Hawaii Five-0 cast’s first group TV appearance is on The Early Show, where they are interviewed by co-anchor Harry Smith, who calls the reboot a “well thought-out, rocking show” and angles for a guest starring role.

May 22 – Alex and cast mate Daniel Dae Kim represent Hawaii Five-0 at the LA Screenings, where international buyers gather each year to shop for new TV shows. David Poltrack, CBS’s Chief Research Officer, is to say later in the year:

“Hawaii Five-O is a profitable company before syndication based on the network license fee and the international sales for that show, which were huge. It’s already in the black before [we] even hit syndication.”

June 5 – CBS finally broadcasts the original – previously unaired -  pilot of Three Rivers. Four new episodes follow, airing each Saturday at 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT until the final installment is broadcast on July 3.

June 11 – It is a visibly humbled Alex who steps onto the podium at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills to give his acceptance speech for having been voted Donate Life Hollywood’s Person of the Year. One of five nominees, he was recognized for having worked closely with the national Donate Life campaign to inspire Americans to register as organ and tissue donors, a collaboration that began while Alex was starring on Three Rivers in 2009.

June 24 – Hawaii News Now reports that Hawaii Five-0 will premiere on September 20, and that locals can enjoy a special Sunset on the Beach screening of the pilot a week earlier, on September 13.

July 15 - For an auspicious run and in honor of its host culture, Hawaii Five-0 kicks off production with a traditional Hawaiian blessing ceremony on the lawn of the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu. Present are the series stars, the producers, crew and guests. Alex is impressed by the beautiful custom, calling it, “amazing” and “incredible”. Immediately after the blessing, the cast sets to work filming the first episode of the show.

July 22 - CBS announces its fall premiere dates and confirms that Hawaii Five-0 debuts on September 20 – exactly 42 years after the original series premiered.

July 23 – Represented by Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, EPs Peter Lenkov, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci and pilot director Len Wiseman, the Hawaii Five-0 Comic-Con panel faces a full and appreciative house in San Diego without Scott Caan and Alex O’Loughlin, who remain behind to film in Hawaii. During the session, Kurtzman speaks highly of Alex and refers to him as “our cornerstone“.

July 28 – Flanked by Scott Caan, Peter Lenkov and Alex Kurtzman, Alex O’Loughlin takes part in the panel at the semi-annual TCA Press Tour in Beverly Hills. The gathering is the opportunity for the assembled media representatives to ask the stars and producers questions about their show prior to the start of the new television season. It always results in a high volume of print and online articles, and today’s session is no exception.

August 3 – “My name name is Alex O’Loughlin, my character name is Steve McGarrett.” With these immortal words, Alex introduces himself in his Hawaii Five-0 video profile!

September 13 – Months of anticipation culminate in what Governor Linda Lingle proclaims to be “Hawaii Five-0 month”. One of the highlights is surely the local Sunset on the Beach premiere, that draws a crowd of more than 10,000 excited viewers according to Hawaii News Now. Astounded at the turnout and buoyed by the festive atmosphere, Alex admits to feeling “humbled, deeply grateful and really overwhelmed”.

In addition to the cast, crew and producers and their guests, also present at the show’s “biggest screen test” are Governor Linda Lingle and acting Mayor of Honolulu Kirk Caldwell, the three daughters of the original show’s creator Leonard Freeman, as well as two stars from the first series, Al Harrington and Jimmy Borges.

The pilot is very well received and all stakeholders can breathe a sigh of relief.

September 16 – With just four days till premiere night, Alex is back in LA to do promotion for the series, including taping The Ellen DeGeneres Show – another first for the Aussie – and an interview with Extra at The Grove. In the evening, he makes an appearance at The Colony, where CBS hosts its 2010 Fall Season Premiere party.

September 20 – Numerous entertainment shows precede the nation-wide premiere of Hawaii Five-0 with interview segments and clips from the pilot. Of course, The Early Show airs a feature and Ellen DeGeneres broadcasts her interview with the new Steve McGarrett.

The highly anticipated pilot episode draws an initial audience of 14.2 million viewers and scores a rating of 3.9 in the key demographic of viewers age 18-49. A very solid start for a reboot that drew some initial skepticism. These figures are later boosted by a record number of DVR viewings and Hawaii Five-0 goes down in the history books as the most DVR’ed show ever. Viewership figures hit the 17.5 million mark and the final rating for the pilot is… 5.0.

Kono: “I like that. Five-oh.“

October 13 – With the rights to air Hawaii Five-0 having been purchased across the globe (an unverified 200 countries has been mentioned), the production opens its doors to the international press in Honolulu’s old post office building, where the task force’s HQ set is located.

Markets where the series is already airing or is confirmed to air are: Asia (AXN), Australia (Ten), Latin America (Liv) and Europe (including the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France, Spain and Portugal).

October 21 – CBS announces via a press release that all five of its new shows are getting a full season order, including Hawaii Five-0 that has so far averaged 14.2 million viewers and a 4.1 A18-49 rating. Nina Tassler states:

“Everything has clicked so far this year—from development in January, to scheduling in May, to production over the summer, to marketing and publicity in the fall. It’s all testimony to the executives in our halls who remain restless for more success, and the amazing creative talent on our sets who continue to deliver the goods.”

November 12 – People includes Alex in its 100 Sexy Men lineup, leading up to the annual selection of the Sexiest Man Alive.

November 30 – According to Nielsen’s Live+7 stats, Hawaii Five-0 broke its own DVR playback record set by the pilot in premiere week. Mana’o, episode 1.07, was viewed on DVR by 3.498 million people, which is 121,000 more viewers than the pilot.

December 7 – A post on Examiner.com reveals that Alex has adopted a 6-month-old Australian Border Collie mix puppy that he found in a junkyard while shooting Hawaii Five-0. He has named the cutie Reggie, after his grandfather.

December 13 – The last new Hawaii Five-0 episode of the year airs on CBS. Based on the first 12 installments (including the pilot), “TV’s #1 new show” draws an average weekly audience of 14.58 million, 3.2 million of whom watch the series on their DVRs. The show’s average A18-49 rating is a very competitive 4.2. It is one of three new shows that made it to the year’s top 20 and it is the most popular of the season’s new offerings, according to a New York Times article based on Nielsen statistics.

December 22 – Shooting for the first year wraps today and the cast and crew can enjoy a well-deserved break until the first week of January. Meanwhile, fans are casting multiple votes for Hawaii Five-0 as the People’s Choice for “Favorite New TV Drama”.

Everyone is hopeful that the series will be renewed for a second season, but the best message of 2010 is that Alex O’Loughlin now has the hit show he deserves!

With special thanks to: the faithful visitors of this site (your comments, tips and feedback are greatly appreciated), the ladies at Hawaii Five-o Fans, Nadioz, CBS, and last but never least, Skylar (Go MSP!) and AM for keeping me motivated and inspired. May 2011 be your best year yet!