MAGNUM
is back!
The ’80s favourite gets a reboot but retains
the flavour of the much-loved original
MAGNUM P.I. Stream* or watch new episodes every week from May 26, Sundays at 8.30pm on FOX8 [108] part of the ENTERTAINMENT pack
F
rom Picnic at Hanging Rock to
S.W.A.T., we can’t get enough of the
TV reboot. Now, Tom Selleck drama
Magnum, P.I. – which ran from 1980
to 1988 and won the star an Emmy – is
the latest to get an update. New series
Magnum P.I. has lost the comma, but stays
true to its roots, with action-packed scenes
and our hero cracking cases with trademark
charm in lush Hawaiian settings.
HERE’S WHAT YOU
WILL AND WON’T SEE:
Hair today, gone tomorrow
Selleck has moved on and so has his
moustache, the new Thomas Magnum –
Jay Hernandez (Bad Moms, Suicide Squad)
- sporting a stubbly goatee. But a ’tache
homage later in the series has been hinted
at. “I can almost picture the moustache
being its own character at some point,” says
Hernandez. “Set it up with an Instagram
account, put it in a director’s chair on set,
have it jump out of an airplane.”
Aloha, Hawaii
Magnum still lives in the guest house
of Robin’s Nest – the Hawaiian estate of
author Robin Masters, who in the reboot
was previously a reporter embedded with
Magnum’s unit in Afghanistan. The sleuth
works for Masters as a security consultant
and runs a side gig as a private investigator
( just don’t call him a private eye!).
War stories
While still a former Navy SEAL, the
new Magnum served in Afghanistan, as
opposed to Selleck’s Vietnam veteran.
Magnum 2.0 also experiences combat
Tom Selleck with
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as the original
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18
9
flashbacks. “We’re going to be telling
positive portrayals of veterans coming
back and serving without uniforms... and
showing the positive side of coming home,”
says executive producer Peter M Lenkov.
Mixing it up
Not only do we have a Latino leading
man, but the caretaker of Robin’s Nest
is now a woman. It’s so long Jonathan
Quayle Higgins III (John Hillerman) and
welcome former MI6 agent Juliet Higgins
(Perdita Weeks). “The only thing that
was maybe missing from the original was
a strong female character,” says Weeks.
“There were a lot of women, but maybe
not playing such an important role.”
High octane
Yes, there are red Ferraris, including the
308 GTS driven by the original Magnum,
plus the modern 488 Spider it inspired.
And with director Justin Lin (Fast & Furious)
helming the pilot, we can expect plenty
of full-throttle action. Hernandez had no
qualms about getting behind the wheel of
a $500,000-plus car: “I’m like, ‘Gimme the
keys. I’ll take this for a spin. I’m not afraid.’”
Upping the ante
With advances in special effects, the action
scenes are more ambitious than ever. “It’s
crazy to think that you can pull this off for
a television show,” says Hernandez. “The
more action you add to it, the crazier the
days get and the harder it makes getting
a single episode done, but we’re doing it.”
Getting shirty
Yes, the Hawaiian shirts continue to have
a starring role, albeit toned down a notch
with Hernandez opting for more modern
prints as opposed to the louder prints of
the ’80s. He also wears his shirts untucked.
The old gang’s all here
Magnum’s war buddies Orville ‘Rick’ Wright
(Zachary Knighton), a club owner, and
Theodore ‘TC’ Calvin (Stephen Hill),
a chopper pilot, provide goofy antics and
occasional assistance on cases. Doberman
pinschers Zeus and Apollo also return as
the loyal Robin’s Nest guard dogs, aloof
as ever towards Magnum – and that’s not
just them in character. “The dogs are great,”
smiles Hernandez. “Although, on set, it’s
a little complicated to get them to do what
they’re supposed to do.”
20 Foxtel MAY