Magnum PI pilot officially ordered by CBS
Today, the network officially ordered a pilot for Magnum PI, a new edition of the series that features the title character getting into his private-eye business after a stint in Afghanistan. Tom Selleck starred as the character in the original version; he is still in the CBS family thanks to Blue Bloods. Peter M. Lenkov of Hawaii Five-0 and MacGyver are writing the pilot alongside fellow Five-0 executive producer Eric Guggenheim.
We spoke with Lenkov and Guggenheim earlier this month, and in that interview they said that development of the new series was moving along nicely. Now, they are at the point in which they can start to think more about casting.
(Is this the part where we campaign for Ryan Eggold to get the part?)
Anyhow, we’re excited to see if this project gets a series order just because there’s every reason in the world to think that it will. Both MacGyver and Hawaii Five-0 have become enormous hits for CBS in the modern era, and have done a great job when it comes to taking the essence of the original shows and finding a way to adapt and change it to meet modern audiences. They’re both fun, action-packed series and with Magnum PI also set in Hawaii, you have to think that there could be all sorts of crossover possibilities. One of the biggest reasons why doing MacGyver / Hawaii Five-0 crossovers is a little more challenging is because the two shows film on completely opposite sides of the country.
Once there is some more news on Magnum PI, we’ll be sure to let you know. Based on past pilot production cycles, most signs point to the series getting a chance to air in the fall, at the earliest.
(Photo: CBS.)