Magnum PI season 5: What is NBC’s plan for possible revival?

As so many of you know at this point, we are now in the midst of a lengthy Magnum PI waiting game. Will NBC and/or USA save the canceled CBS show? There’s a reasonable chance of it, at least based on reporting from the past few days.

We have focused already on some of the factors at play with making this “save” happen, whether it be studio negotiations or figuring out the show’s long-term streaming plans. With all of this in mind, we thought it would be smart today to dive into a slightly different subject: What does NBC gain from this? Why would they want to save this show in the first place?

Let’s start with a reminder for those who haven’t heard: The network already has a full schedule. Unless they were to make a change, Magnum PI likely would not air with them until early 2023. They also don’t have a lot of major holes in general — Wednesdays and Thursday nights, for example, are devoted entirely to Dick Wolf. They also are trying to use La Brea as their next big hit after the end of This Is Us.

Where things have long been murky for NBC, though, is Friday nights — which fittingly, is exactly where Magnum PI has aired for quite some time! This past year, they rolled with The Blacklist / Dateline as a lineup. We know The Blacklist will be coming back for a season 10. Could they reduce Dateline to an hour and plug the Jay Hernandez series in there? It feels like it would make a good bit of sense. Magnum generates better ratings than The Blacklist and it could help the latter show; also, this could give them something on that night if the James Spader drama does end with season 10, which feels possible. Other timeslots could be possible, but Fridays make the most sense for us. NBC won’t want to risk a new drama on that night if they don’t have to, since it can be rather dodgy.

The other reasons for NBC to fight for Magnum are a little easier to read: It could make more money for them since it partially comes from their own studio in Universal TV. Also, if they could get repeats on their Peacock streaming service long-term, that boosts it at a time when that is certainly needed! The fact that NBC is even talking about saving the show is significant, given that a network like this knows how complicated these negotiations are. It’s possible things fall through, but feel grateful and validated that we’ve seen it get to this point at all.

Do you think Magnum PI season 5 could end up on NBC?

Be sure to let us know below! Also, stay here for even more insight that you will not want to miss. (Photo: CBS.)