Magnum, P.I. (2018)

Magnum P.I.
Background information
Genre	Crime drama Action
Based on	Magnum, P.I. by Donald Bellisario and Glen A. Larson
Developed by	Peter M. Lenkov Eric Guggenheim
Cast	Jay Hernandez Perdita Weeks Zachary Knighton Stephen Hill Tim Kang Amy Hill
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	40
Production information
Executive producer(s)	Peter M. Lenkov Eric Guggenheim John Davis John Fox Justin Lin Danielle Woodrow
Producer(s)	Craig Cannold
Camera setup	Single-camera
Production company	101st Street Entertainment Perfect Storm Entertainment Davis Entertainment Universal Television CBS Television Studios
Distributor	CBS Television Distribution (United States) NBCUniversal Television Distribution (International)
Release information
Network	CBS
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Premiere	September 24, 2018
Finale	present

Magnum P.I. is an American crime drama television series developed by Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim which was premiered on September 24, 2018 on CBS. The series is a reboot of the original series, which was aired from 1980 to 1988.

On October 19, 2018, it was announced that the series had received a full season order from CBS. On January 25, 2019, CBS renewed the series for a second season which was premiered on September 27, 2019. In May 2020, the series has renewed 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".

Summary

As in the original series, the reboot follows Thomas Magnum, a former Navy SEAL turned private investigator who occupies the guest house on 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 Higgins replaces the male character Jonathan Higgins from the original series.) 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, Rick Wright and 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 article: Cast

• Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum
• Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins
• Zachary Knighton as Rick Wright
• Stephen Hill as Theodore "T.C." Calvin
• Tim Kang as Detective Gordon Katsumoto
• Amy Hill as Teuila "Kumu" Tuileta

Episodes

Main article: Episode List

Season		Episodes	Originally aired
			Season premiere	Season finale
	1	20	September 24, 2018	April 1, 2019
	2	20	September 27, 2019	May 8, 2020
	3	22

Production

Development

In October 2017, the original series has signed on to produce a remake series with Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim for CBS, which owns the rights to Magnum, P.I. through its acquisition of the original Bellisaruis Production and Universal Television. In February 2018, it was announced that CBS had greenlit production of a pilot episode written by both Lenkov and Guggenheim also directed by Justin Lin from Fast & Furious.

On May 11, 2018, the network picked up the series. Co-creator and executive producer Peter M. Lenkov served 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 it was announced that the series was set to see multiple crossover's with Hawaii Five-0. Lenkov confirmed that Kimee Balmilero and Taylor Wily would make guest appearances as their Hawaii Five-0 characters, medical examiner Noelani Cunha and entrepreneur Kamekona Tupuola respectively. Balmilero was set to appear in Episode One while Wily was set to appear in Episode Two. Meanwhile, Alex O'Loughlin's character, Steve McGarrett, was 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 October 19, 2018, it was announced that the series had received a full season order consisting of 20 episodes. On January 25, 2019, CBS announced the show was renewed for a second season which premiered on September 27, 2019.

On May 6, 2020, CBS announced that the series was renewed for a third season which is set to premiere by fall 2020.

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

Jay said on The Late Show that his first question was whether he would have to sport a mustache, but the producers and creative team said no.

In February 20, 2018, Jay Hernandez was announced as the new Magnum, also March 2, 2018, Perdita Weeks would play as Juliet Higgins, Magnum's best friend from U.S. army, alongside with Zachary Knighton, who played as Rick Wright on May 16 and another Magnum's friend named Theodore "T.C." Calvin portrayed by Stephen Hill on March 21, 2018. On July 20, 2018, it was announced that Tim Kang would join the cast as Honolulu PD detective Gordon Katsumoto, who would develop a friendly rivalry with Magnum as they work cases. On July 25, 2018, it was announced Amy Hill had been cast in a recurring role. Both Kang and Hill are debuted in their regular series in this 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. Master's 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, two-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

On review aggregation Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 53% with an average rating of 5.88/10, based on fifteen 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 sixteen critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."

Ratings

Season	Timeslot (ET)	No. of episodes	Premiered		Ended		TV season	Rank	Avg. viewers (in millions)
			Date	Premiere viewers (in millions)	Date	Finale viewers (in millions)
1	Monday 9:00 PM	20	September 24, 2018	8.12	April 1, 2019	5.54	2018–19	#37	8.36
2	Friday 9:00 PM	20	September 27, 2019	6.40	May 8, 2020	6.09	2019–20	#27	8.91
3		22	Fall 2020				2020–21

DVD Release

The first season was released for DVD on June 11, 2019 owned and partnered with CBS/Paramount.

Image	DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
	Magnum P.I. - Season 1	20	June 11, 2019
	Magnum P.I. - Season 2	20	September 1, 2020

Gallery

External Links

• Magnum, P.I. on Wikipedia
• Magnum P.I. (2018) on CBS Wiki (Fandom)
• Magnum P.I. on Television Fandom
• Magnum P.I. on IMDb