It’s time to pack away the Hawaiian shirts and park the Ferrari 488 in the garage, after five seasons at NBC, Magnum P.I. has been canceled. The news was exclusively reported to Deadline. The news comes after the series was picked up for a 20-episode fifth season last year. The first half of the final season finished airing in April of this year. The release date for the final half of what will be the series’ last season has not yet been announced. However, it is expected that NBC will mount an extensive campaign that will market the episodes as the final chapter of the series.
Last year it seemed that Magnum P.I. had escaped the ax, having been saved by NBC after it was canceled by CBS following the series’ fourth season. However, complications with actors’ contracts surrounding a possible delayed filming schedule due to the ongoing writers’ strike forced the issue of renewal. And it seems that NBC has opted to cut the thread rather than potentially holding on to the series for an indefinite period. However, this does not mean that there will be no more Magnum P.I. as the ten-episode part two to the fifth season has yet to air and will serve as the wrap-up to the series.
The reboot of Magnum P.I. premiered in 2018 on CBS. The series was developed by Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim. It is a reboot of the iconic original 1980s series, which starred a mustachioed Tom Selleck. Both shows follow a private investigator, Thomas Magnum, who solves crimes in Hawaii as a private investigator. In the reboot, Jay Hernandez plays the ex-Navy SEAL Thomas Magnum, who works as a security consultant and as a private investigator. The series also stars Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, and Stephen Hill among others.
A Complicated Future for Series Streaming
The streaming rights for the series, which has aired on both CBS and NBC, are complicated. The new season, which airs on NBC, is available to stream on NBCUniversal‘s Peacock. However, previous seasons of the show are available to stream on Paramount+, the streaming service that houses CBS content. The news of the series’ cancelation (again) is surprising considering the series’ consistently strong ratings and enthusiastic fan following.
No word on when the second half of Season 5 will air. The ten-episode run will round out what has turned out to be the series’ final season, hopefully giving a satisfying resolution to the series’ fans.
via Collider