CBS Has Found Its New ‘Magnum, P.I.’ in Jay Hernandez
Looks like Tom Selleck’s shoes can be filled after all.
Deadline reported Tuesday that Jay Hernandez will take over the mustachioed actor’s iconic role in CBS’ reboot of the classic cop series, Magnum, P.I.
The revival centers on Thomas Magnum (Hernandez), a decorated ex-Navy SEAL who becomes a private investigator after returning home from Afghanistan. He gets help from fellow vets Theodore “TC” Calvin and Orville “Rick” Wright, as well as from disavowed former MI-6 agent Juliet Higgins (an updating of John Hillerman’s famous character as a woman).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hernandez’s Magnum will don a Detroit Tigers ball cap as Selleck did during the original series, which ran from 1980-88 on CBS. But no word yet on whether he will sport the sort of mustache that helped make Selleck a star and a sex symbol during the ’80s (or if he’ll have any sort of mustache at all, for that matter).
Hernandez is primarily known for his film work, most recently appearing in the Netflix original Bright. On TV, he was a regular on the 2006-07 ABC series Six Degrees, and most recently guest-starred on Scandal in 2016.
No other cast, nor a premiere date, for the new Magnum, P.I. has been set yet. As with the original series, the pilot for the reboot will be set in Hawaii. Peter Lenkov (no stranger to the islands given his work on CBS’ very successful Hawaii Five-0 reboot) is writing and executive-producing, with Justin Lin, who has helmed a number of the Fast and the Furious movies, directing.
What do you think of Jay Hernandez as the new Magnum? Let us know in the comments below!
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Well, of COURSE they have to make one of the characters a woman, because that's just the way things are done these days. Can't have a reboot without an originally-male character becoming now a female character. And what about Robin Masters? Will he/she still be a reclusive novelist? No, wait, probably a reclusive internet (tech) tycoon.
I hope they're at least going to still have Zeus and Apollo.....
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They will but they will undoubtedly be homosexuals who engage in beastiality! OH....WAIT.....??
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With the demographic shake-up, I half-wonder if TC will still be a black guy. Also, can the reboot of Cagney and Lacey feature two men in the titular roles?
...While TNT's decision to retool itself assuredly factored into the cancellation of Rizzoli and Isles a couple years back (2016), that it was canceled has me wondering if there would be a market for a straight reboot of C&L.
"No, wait, probably a reclusive internet (tech) tycoon."
Oh no, that brings back bad memories of Walden Schmidt (Two and a Half Men), the last time CBS tried to have a "reclusive tech tycoon" character.
It would not surprise me if, in this iteration, there's either no mystery as to the identity of Robin Masters or the character of Robin Masters is simply omitted.
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This will crash and burn a fast, painless death - leave well enough alone!!
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CBS' failed 2016 reboot of Nancy Drew is probably getting lonely down in TV Pilot Purgatory.
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So, this guy is 5' 10" ????
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CBS has already established that it can make an original show out of the "older, female former super secret agent with a cryptic past solves crimes with a team of younger associates" idea, with Henrietta Lange from NCIS: Los Angeles.
So why not take the lessons learned from that original success and make a new, original show?
Besides, Magnum, PI ran for 8 seasons. What more story could there be for the franchise to tell?
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I can't stand how the powers that be turned Hetty into a crafty,Yoda-like, all-knowing spy. I haven't missed her since she's had a less prominent storyline.
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I have my complaints about Hetty's character as well, but TBH the sassy stereotype that is Nia Long's character has made me reconsider.
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Jay Hernandez is on S.W.A.T., how can he do Magnum?
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Are you sure he's on SWAT?
...he was in the recent Netflix movie Bright and, based on that performance (admittedly not a major role), I just don't see him having the presence and easy charm that made Thomas Magnum such an iconic character.
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