NBC has signed a two-year, 20-episode deal rescuing “Magnum, P.I.” after it was canceled by CBS, according to IndieWire and other sources.
Production on the show, which premiered on CBS in 2018, is expected to resume in the fall with new episodes airing next year.
After the Season 4 finale aired in May, the fans — as well as the cast and crew — were surprised by CBS’ announcement. Despite respectable ratings, the network apparently did not want to pay the licensing fee to Universal Television, which owns the intellectual property. Licensing fees would not be an issue for NBC Universal.
Set in Hawaii, the show features two AAPI regulars, Amy Hill as Kumu Tuileta and Tim Kang as Gordon Katsumoto. Kumu is the curator for the cultural center of the Masters Estate, where Magnum lives, and Katsumoto is a Honolulu Police Department detective.
Hill’s other recent credits include the short film “Ready Forward,” the feature film “Mack and Rita,” and the animated series “Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight.”
The new “Magnum” is a reboot of the series that aired from 1980 to 1988 with Tom Selleck as a Vietnam veteran who used his military skills as a private investigator. In the new version, Jay Hernandez plays a former Navy SEAL who served in Afghanistan. The new cast also includes Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins, Zachary Knighton as Rick Wright, and Stephen Hill as T.C. Calvin.
The new show shares some secondary characters with the “Hawaii Five-0” reboot that ran from 2010 to 2020 and once did a crossover episode. It also exists in the same fictional universe as the “MacGyver” reboot as well as the “NCIS” shows.
The deal would bring the “Magnum” reboot’s run to a total of 96 episodes, with an option for more.
“It was a bit circuitous but we did it!” Hernandez tweeted. “Your love and support helped get us over the finish line. Thank you and thanks to NBC for stepping up! Time to dust off the aloha shirt!”
Kang tweeted, “We couldn’t do ‘Magnum, P.I.’ without you all. Literally. Thank you.”
On Instagram, Weeks posted a photo of herself with the caption “Off to see the Ohana. #Season5.”
Amy Hill’s Facebook page was filled with congratulatory messages from friends and fans, one of whom said, “I knew it was too good to go anywhere.”
Showrunner Eric Guggenheim is also expected to return, along with executive producers Justin Lin, John Davis, and John Fox.