Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Magnum P.I.’ On CBS, A Mustache-Free Reboot Of The Classic ‘80s Series

Was there a reason to reboot Magnum P.I.? No, but there was little reason to reboot Hawaii Five-0 or MacGyver, and now they’re both mainstays on CBS’s schedule. So here comes a new version of Thomas Magnum’s adventures, with Jay Hernandez playing a clean-shaven version of the mustachioed character Tom Selleck made famous. Is it even close to as good as the original?

MAGNUM P.I.: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: To the opening strains of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” we see a guy in a spacesuit make a jump from the outer reaches of the earth’s atmosphere, parachuting into North Korea.

The Gist: This incredible scene is courtesy of Robin Masters, whose novels are based on the tales Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez) told him about his days as a Navy SEAL. Now Magnum works as a security consultant on Masters’ sprawling Hawaii estate, where he lives in the guest house and is constantly in conflict with the estate’s majordomo, Juliet Higgins (Perdita Weeks), who likes to sic Robin’s Dobermans Zeus and Apollo on Magnum for kicks. Magnum also works as a private investigator (don’t ever tell him he’s a “private eye” or even a “P.I.” or he’ll correct you).

Magnum hangs out with his buddies Orville “Rick” Wright (Zachary Knighton), who owns one of Oahu’s hottest clubs and is highly connected, and Theodore “T.C.” Calvin (Stephen Hill), who owns the Island Hoppers helicopter tour company. The three of them bonded in a POW camp in Afghanistan and they have always had each other’s back. When the fourth person in that group, Nuzo (Domenick Lombardozzi), is kidnapped and killed, the remaining three band together to figure out who killed him.

That investigation involves the destruction of two Ferraris, a deep-sea dive that yields dozens of gold bars, and an escape involving Magnum hanging off the skids of T.C.’s helicopter.

Our Take: We were pretty grumpy as we watched this new version of Magnum. We were big fans of the 1980-88 version that starred Tom Selleck, Roger E. Mosley, Larry Manetti and the late Jonathan Hillerman, mainly because Don Bellisario was able to mix action with personal relationships, developing storylines, and a wry sense of humor, even from the first episode.

This version, created by Peter Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim and directed by Justin Lin, left us cold. It seemed to be more interested in Lin’s patented Fast and Furious-esque chase scenes where Magnum shoots from his Ferrari as it spins to face the truck that’s holding the gold.

And while we didn’t expect to know too much about the new Rick and T.C. in the first episode, we thought we’d find out a bit more about Magnum and Higgins. Let’s set aside the fact that Higgins is now an attractive young woman instead of a middle-aged man for a second (and the prospects of Higgins and Magnum hooking up down the road makes us shudder); it feels like their adversarial relationship softens before the first episode ends, and we don’t learn a ton about either individually.

Did we need to know right away that Higgins was former MI6? Did we need to see Higgins helping the final chase while looking at a laptop and wearing a headset, like this is an episode of NCIS? The reason why the original worked so well was the charm of Selleck and Hillerman and the relationships that grew among all the primary players, not because of insane chases or technological geegaws.

That being said… If you weren’t a fan of the original, or never saw it, you might like this show on its own merits. Unlike most CBS procedurals, there’s a history between Magnum, T.C. and Rick that’s already in place; it’ll be a fertile ground for stories that go beyond the case-of-the-week format the show will have. And if the writers can restrain themselves from hooking up Magnum and Higgins (shudder), it’ll be fun to see Thomas peels away Juliet’s coldish exterior.

Sex and Skin: Nothing yet, but Magnum will likely connect with someone at some point.

Parting Shot: The gang, and Nuzo’s wife and son, leave for Nuzo’s funeral. Magnum and Higgins get into a black Ferrari, and Magnum offers to drive. “After yesterday, I think I should drive,” she says. “With one arm?” asks Magnum? “I assure you, it’s still safer,” she shoots back.

Sleeper Star: Zachary Knighton strikes the right tone as Rick, who’s essentially the comedy relief of the show. Always connected, always has “a guy,” he fills Manetti’s shoes well.

Most Pilot-y Line: While Magnum gives Nuzo’s son a long afterschool-special-toned speech about losing his own dad, the worst line is near the end, when in signature Magnum voice over, he says about T.C. and Rick, “Friends like those come once in a lifetime.” Then he sees Higgins and the voice over says, “But maybe I’m wrong about that.” Jeez, can’t we at least wait until Season 2 for Magnum and Higgins to become friends?

Our Call: SKIP IT. The new version of Magnum is disappointingly generic, for both fans of the Selleck version and for people who just want a fun procedural to watch. Which means it’ll probably run on CBS for ten years.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

Watch Magnum P.I. (2018) on CBS All Access