Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)


Magnum P.I. is an American crime action drama television series developed by Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim that premiered in 2018. It stars Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator and former Navy SEAL who solves crimes in Hawaii. It is a reboot of the series of the same name created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson, which aired from 1980 to 1988. The series co-stars Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Amy Hill, and Tim Kang.
The pilot was directed by Justin Lin. It was ordered to series on May 11, 2018, and premiered September 24, 2018, on CBS. On October 19, 2018, it was announced that the series had received a full season order from CBS. In January 2019, CBS renewed the series for a second season which premiered on September 27, 2019. In May 2020, CBS renewed the series for a third season.
Magnum P.I. takes place in the same fictional universe as two other series, both also developed by Lenkov and both also reboots of earlier police shows: Hawaii Five-0 and MacGyver. The three shows have been collectively referred to as the "Lenkov-verse".

Premise

As in the original series, the reboot follows Thomas Magnum, a former Navy SEAL turned private investigator who occupies the guest house on Robin's Nest, the Hawaiian estate owned by famous author Robin Masters. He lives with Juliet Higgins, a former MI6 agent assigned by Masters to protect the estate, and native Hawaiian Kumu Tuileta, who is the estate's cultural curator. Juliet often assists Thomas with his cases, and becomes a full partner in the agency during season 2. Magnum is also frequently assisted by two former U.S. Marines, Orville "Rick" Wright and Theodore "TC" Calvin. Rick is now a bar owner, while TC is a pilot whose main business is running helicopter tours of the islands. Magnum tends to butt heads with HPD Detective Gordon Katsumoto, but the two also help each other when needed.

Cast

Main

Season 1 (2018–19)

Season 2 (2019–20)

Production

Development

On October 20, 2017, CBS announced a pilot commitment for a remake of the original series to be written by Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim. The pilot would be co-produced by CBS Studios and Universal Television, the latter of which holds the rights to the original series. In February 2018, CBS announced that pilot production had been greenlit. Justin Lin was set to direct.
On May 11, 2018, the network picked up the series. Co-developer and executive producer Peter M. Lenkov will serve as the showrunner. On May 16, 2018, CBS released a first video trailer for new series. The pilot episode was aired as a special preview prior to the series San Diego Comic-Con panel.
On July 19, 2018, Lenkov announced that multiple crossovers have been planned with the ninth season of Hawaii Five-0. Lenkov confirmed that Kimee Balmilero and Taylor Wily will make guest appearances as their Hawaii Five-0 characters, medical examiner Noelani Cunha and entrepreneur Kamekona Tupuola respectively. Balmilero is set to appear in episode one while Wily is set to appear in episode two. Meanwhile, Alex O'Loughlin's character, Steve McGarrett, is set to cross paths with Hernandez's character later in the season.
On Wednesday, August 22, 2018, with the anticipated landfall of Hurricane Lane, a Category 4 hurricane, in Hawaii CBS reported that they "were closely monitoring the situation" but that production would continue as planned. The following day CBS temporarily shut down production of both Magnum P.I. and Hawaii Five-0 until further notice.
On November 19, 2019, CBS announced that the second season of Magnum P.I. would go on hiatus after MacGyver returned to Friday nights on February 7, 2020. The network further announced that Magnum P.I. would return on April 10, after Hawaii Five-0 ended its run. On May 6, 2020, CBS announced that it was renewed for a third season which is set to premiere by fall 2020.

Lenkov's firing

On July 7, 2020, it was reported that Lenkov was fired from his role as executive producer and showrunner following an investigation into allegations that he created a toxic work environment. Guggenheim will replace Lenkov as showrunner.

Casting

On February 20, 2018, Jay Hernandez was announced as the new Magnum. It was announced on March 2, 2018 that Perdita Weeks will play Juliet Higgins. According to a May 16, 2018 announcement, Magnum's best friend from U.S. Marines, Rick Wright, will be portrayed by Zachary Knighton. Three days later, it was announced that another one of Magnum's friends, Theodore "T.C." Calvin, will be played by Stephen Hill. On July 20, 2018, it was announced that Tim Kang would join the cast as Honolulu PD detective Gordon Katsumoto, who will develop a friendly rivalry with Magnum as they work cases. Finally, it was announced on July 25, 2018 that Amy Hill had been cast in a recurring role. Hill and Kang both debuted in the series' third episode.

Filming

Following production of the pilot earlier in the year, filming for the first season began on July 23, 2018, with a traditional Hawaiian blessing.
A central theme of the original series was Magnum's constant, if not always approved, use of Mr. Masters' vehicles. Then Magnum almost exclusively favored his Ferrari 308 GTS. The 308GTS has become a cultural icon, inextricably linked to the series, such that it was briefly shown in the pilot episode. In 2018 the production team updated his favored vehicle to a Ferrari 488 Spider. Both cars are a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-seat, roadster variant of the current V8 Ferrari.
Filming on the second season also began with a traditional Hawaiian blessing on July 8, 2019. Filming on the third season is set to return in August 2020.

Reception

Critical response

Magnum P.I. has been met with mixed reviews. On review aggregation Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 57% with an average rating of 6.35/10, based on 21 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The rebooted Magnum P.I. may not be quite distinctive enough to hold up to comparisons with its source material, but a charismatic star, slickly staged action, and a handful of modern twists hint at greater potential." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 47 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."

Ratings

Overall

Season 1

Season 2

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