Magnum PI season 5: The most suitable future homes for canceled show

Yesterday, we wrote that for the first time, a path towards a Magnum PI season 5 could be possible. Studio Universal Television is reportedly shopping the show around, and doesn’t that put a spring in your step? While nothing is confirmed as to whether or not the canceled CBS show will find a new home, it does allow for an opportunity and, above all else, hope. It’s nice to see that studio has enough faith in both the show and its characters that it may have an opportunity to find a second life elsewhere.

So now that we’ve said all of that, let’s move focus to the real story today: What future homes make the most sense for a possible season 5? Note that these are just personal assessments, and not indications of who the studio may be calling up. Also, remember in general that revivals for canceled shows are fairly rare, and we’re not here to try to administer any false hope.

NBC – Remember that Universal TV and NBC share a parent company and for that vantage point alone, this move makes the most sense. The ratings for season 4 on CBS were also strong enough that NBC could justify picking it up. The only downside is that they’ve already released their fall schedule and the best-case scenario is that it was picked up for midseason, either as a replacement for the canceled New Amsterdam or to air alongside The Blacklist on Fridays. This is the only network TV partner that makes sense, given studio economics and the schedule plans that are in place.

USA – This is an extremely long shot. While USA is also owned by NBCUniversal, they’ve been moving increasingly away from original scripted programming. Five years ago, this actually would’ve been a great fit! There’s just not enough viewership in basic cable these days to justify the cost.

Peacock – In our mind, this is the destination that makes the most sense. It’s also owned by NBCUniversal and this is a place where the company is trying to up its programming cache. Bringing on board Magnum PI would be a fantastic boon to their lineup, since it’s an established show with a great cast. We know that the Psych movies have performed extremely well for them and tonally, this show shares at least some similarities.

Paramount+ – CBS did move SEAL Team, a show they would’ve otherwise likely canceled, over to that streaming service. Could they decide to do that here? Maybe, but remember that negotiations over a license fee were the reason Magnum got canceled in the first place. It’s unlikely they’d want to reenter negotiations now.

Hulu – There was a time when NBC shows were prevalent over here, but more recently the parent company has moved them more to Peacock. We think that NBCUniversal is slowly cutting some of their programming ties here, so we wouldn’t have high hopes — nonetheless, it’s possible if it could turn a profit here.

Netflix – We know that everyone loves to ask Netflix to save their canceled shows. The simple issue is that it doesn’t happen that much anymore. The streaming service likes to focus more on its own development, and a semi-procedural show doesn’t really fit well with their programming model. Any of the other streaming services mentioned here are safer bets.

Where would you want to see a Magnum PI season 5 land?

Be sure to share right now in the comments below! Also, stick around for other updates. (Photo: CBS.)