'Magnum P.I.' Canceled Again, Show Will End With Final 10 Episodes

The NBC reboot of "Magnum P.I." is officially coming to an end after the show's upcoming fifth season. Per Deadline, the network opted not to renew the show after being picked up for an additional 20-episode fifth season in 2022 by NBC. This marks the second time the show has essentially been canceled, the first time being its original network, CBS.

Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim developed the new show. It debuted on CBS in September 2018, running for its first four seasons. Guggenheim serves as showrunner. The show stars Jay Hernandez as the titular Thomas Magnum.

It's a reboot of the classic 1980s television series of the same name starring Tom Selleck that ran from 1980 to 1988 on CBS. The new show also starred Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins and Zachary Knighton as Orville "Rick" Wright. NBC previously announced that the show's fifth season would continue airing later next year:

https://twitter.com/magnumpi/status/1657100449512833025

Deadline reports that NBC will be mounting a marketing campaign for the show's final ten episodes, promoting the installments as the "final chapter" of the series. The network had previously opted to split the show's 20-episode last season in half, airing the first half in midseason and the second half for midseason 2024, which could also occur earlier due to the ongoing labor dispute between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producer s (AMPTP).

Deadline notes that with the cast's options expiring on June 30, NBC must decide on the show now. The reported options were an early sixth-season renewal, extending the cast's choices, releasing the actors, and ending the series. With the ongoing WGA strike making it unclear when scripted shows could return to production, an early renewal for a sixth season for "Magnum P.I." appeared unlikely.

While NBC reportedly had ten episodes for Season 5 in the can for the 2023-2024 season, NBC would have to hold a much longer hold on the cast's contract options until a decision on a Season 6 renewal could be made. So it appears that precipitated NBC's decision to not renew the series.

https://youtu.be/felC-FBRris

This marks the second cancelation for the series. CBS previously canceled the reboot in 2022. However, Univeral Television found the show a new home at NBC. It appears unlikely the show will get rescued again unless another streamer decides to find a way to partner up with Universal T.V. to pick up the front, similar to the drama "Manifest." The first three seasons of "Manifest" ran on NBC. The show was then saved for cancelation by Netflix and landed a fourth and final season.

Deadline reports that the show continued to perform well with viewers while airing on NBC, and the play performed on par with other scripted shows that were still picked up for the 2023-24 season. It is also one of the few broadcast drams to have a Latino lead in Hernandez.

https://twitter.com/UniversalTV/status/1653127424891133952

Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson created the original 1980s series starring Selleck. Much like the original, the new show followed private investigator Thomas Magnum (Hernandez), a former Navy SEAL turned private investigator who solves crimes in Hawaii.

The first half of Season 5 is currently available to stream on Peacock. However, the first four seasons are only available to stream on Paramount+, the rushing home of the show's previous network, CBS. CBS Studios also co-produced the initial seasons.