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COURTESY CBS
The reboot of “Magnum P.I.” was canceled by CBS after four seasons. Pictured are Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins, Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, Stephen Hill as Theodore “TC” Calvin, Christopher Thornton as Kenneth Shammy, Amy Hill as Teuila “Kumu” Tuileta and Zachary Knighton as Orville “Rick” Wright.
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Two weeks after “Magnum P.I.” was abruptly canceled, there is the barest hint that it might survive after all. The website TVLine.com reported Monday that Universal Television “is trying to shop it around.”
The reboot of the popular detective show, starring Jay Hernandez in the title role originated by Tom Selleck in the 1980s, was drawing 7 million weekly viewers, enough to place it in the top 25 in network series. It was “the most established CBS series to be canceled this season,” according to Deadline, which covers Hollywood-related news, adding that two other shows with lower ratings are being renewed. The website said negotiations between the network and main studio Universal Television over licensing rights fell through, resulting in the cancellation.
Fans around the world have launched a wide-ranging campaign to get the show back on the air, according to Dr. Tori Jones, a physician based in London who found comfort in the show while working on a COVID-19 ward. The campaign includes a letter-writing and call-in campaign to the network, a GoFundMe campaign to purchase lei for network executives and an online petition on change.org to collect 15,000 signatures supporting the show. The petition, which has collected more than 12,700 signatures as of this writing, has been promoted on Twitter and Instagram by actor Amy Hill, a series regular who plays Teuila “Kumu” Tuileta. Jones said the cast, crew and series creator Peter Lenkov have been communicating with fans online.
Fans say they appreciate the diversity of the show’s cast and its portrayal of friendship and patriotism (Magnum and many of the other characters are veterans) while addressing issues such as bullying and PTSD.
One fan even credited the show with saving his life, posting on actor Stephen Hill’s Instagram that he had been experiencing an episode of high blood pressure but got through it after calling a crisis hotline for veterans that had appeared on the show. Hill plays Theodore “TC” Calvin, one of Magnum’s former military buddies.
Other fans like the scenes of Hawaii, while expressing hope for a romance between Magnum and Juliet Higgins, played by Perdita Weeks. Other series regulars include actors Zachary Knighton (Orville “Rick” Wright) and Tim Kang (Detective Gordon Katsumoto).
