Chief of War star Jason Momoa recently revealed that most of the series is in Hawaiian, with English appearing gradually in later episodes. Following the show’s release on Apple TV+, Momoa explained that he and co-creator Thomas Paʻa Sibbett insisted on using ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi to preserve cultural and historical authenticity,

In Chief of War, Momoa plays Kaʻiana, a legendary figure in Hawaiian history. He was the first chief to travel beyond the islands and lived during the turbulent time when Kamehameha the Great fought to unify the Hawaiian islands under his rule.

His contemporary was Kamehameha I (played in Chief of War by Kaina Makua), who would eventually become known as Kamehameha the Great. Like Kaʻiana, he was probably born in the 1750s, and came from the Big Island. And his aristocratic lineage, though questioned, cemented his future as a strong leader too, according to National Geographic.