Magnum PI season 5: A deadline that isn’t a deadline; schedule talk

We get that this is a pretty tense time for most of the Magnum PI fandom, and rest assured that we more than understand. We know there’s a lot of eager waiting right now to learn if NBC or someone else is reviving the show, especially due to a potential deadline looming.

If you are a longtime reader, then you know that we’ve discussed June 30 as an important date for the show for a while. That is when cast contracts expire for the entire crop of series regulars. Unless there is an extension to their deals, after that date they can seek out other opportunities. We know that a lot has been made about Jay Hernandez landing a new movie role, but we reported on Monday that this should not impact his availability for season 5. It’s reasonably common for actors to do films here and there in the summer; Jaina Lee Ortiz, Grant Gustin, and Kevin McKidd are just three examples of prominent series regulars who have done that in recent years.

For now, we continue to operate from a stance of no news being good news, though it would be nice to get something definitive on the cast contracts soon. What’s important is that the cast and crew still seem to be unified in their hopes that it will find a new home; we’ll only start being concerned once that changes. As long as everyone wants to come back, signing new deals after June 30 should not be an issue. We should note that it took until August for Manifest to be revived at Netflix, though we are expecting a faster decision here.

We should also mention here that NBC officially released their fall premiere dates today, and Magnum PI is not on it. We proposed a possible conspiracy theory days ago that the network could be waiting on releasing them in case they saved the show, but we never that serious about it. It’s always felt like the show would be a midseason debut if it gets saved there, largely because they’re going to be behind a typical production window based on the delay in a season 5 pickup.

Our hope is that if Magnum does get revived, we could see it back in January or February.

While you wait for Magnum PI news…

The best thing to do is continue to be vocal in your support of the show. It’s value that networks and studios are reminded that there is still an eager fanbase out there; every little bit helps, right?

As always, we of course want to hear your thoughts on this story below! Once you do just that, keep coming back for other news. (Photo: CBS.)