Magnum PI season 5 premiere date: All the factors at play

Magnum PI season 5

Magnum PI season 5 is coming to NBC — you don’t have to worry about that! Instead, you just have to sit back and wonder when it will be airing.

Deciding a premiere date for any show can be complicated; it is even more so when you’re talking about one that is airing at midseason. There is no specific time-frame here. While a fall premiere for network TV typically means late September or early October, midseason goes from January through at least March. This means a number of dates are out there for the Jay Hernandez series, and there are a series of factors at play that could better determine things.

First and foremost, we should note that the state of production won’t really be an issue. Since filming is set to start presumably in September, that means there will be enough episodes ready in January or any time after. This shouldn’t play a big role in when Magnum PI comes back.

What will? It starts with the performance of some of NBC’s fall programming. The lineups on Wednesday and Thursday are locked in, but there are new shows on Mondays and Fridays. How those fare could be key to determining if Magnum PI needs to become a fill-in show if one of them does not fare well. Even if they do, it could still fill a void in the schedule. Let’s say that Quantum Leap is a hit on Mondays. Magnum PI could air from January until March, and then Quantum Leap could come back to close the rest of its season.

Another variable? It’s simply finding the spot that is the right fit. Fridays fundamentally make a lot of sense because the show has aired there before successfully, but will there be room? NBC will consider that and also consider the best possible lead-in. They don’t want to just throw the show to the wolves. They will give the series a spot where they can promote it leading into it. They may also lean on the fact that the show already has a season 6 renewal. That could give them comfort to take a larger risk, such as airing season 5 on Sundays after the NFL season in March. This is a timeslot that they have historically struggled in and they could see Magnum PI as a fix.

Odds are, we won’t hear about a premiere date until close to the end of the year. That should allow them more time to consider all of these variables and figure out a decision.

What do you think we’re going to see when it comes to a Magnum PI season 5 premiere date?

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