What is CBS Doing to “Magnum P.I.”?

CBS has decided to give “Magnum P.I.“ what I call “The Lenkov Treatment.”

You might be wondering what I’m talking about...

Peter Lenkov is the producer behind the network’s popular “Hawaii Five-O” and “MacGyver” reboots — shows that stray from the source material, and give a fun, fast, Jerry Bruckheimer-esque makeover to iconic series. 

The purist in all of us might scoff, but you can’t deny the charm in Lenkov’s reboots. 

“Magnum P.I.” happens to be one of my all-time favorite shows. I own all eight seasons on DVD. I have watched all eight seasons on DVD. Tom Selleck is one of my favorite actors — his series “Blue Bloods” and his “Jesse Stone” detective movies (based on the Robert B. Parker novels) are among my preferred TV properties.

Talk of a “Magnum” reboot has been in the ether for years. I cringed each time I heard about plans to do it. 

One plan involved the director behind the movie “Dodgeball” taking a shot at rebooting the show for a theatrical release. A more recent possibility involved Eva Longoria producing a show around Magnum’s daughter Lily (who we met as a little girl in the eighth season of “Magnum P.I.”). 

After “Magnum P.I.’s” run in the 1980s, Selleck himself even discussed the possibility of a movie sequel written by “The Hunt for Red October” scribe Tom Clancy (who, according to Selleck, was a fan of the series). 

Frankly, I’ve never been sure what a reboot would look like. “Magnum P.I.” is sort of the ultimate 1980s show. Many of the show's signatures — hawaiian shirts, short shorts, red Ferraris, the Vietnam War, mustaches — are relics of a decade long since past. 

So much of Selleck’s persona is infused in the show. 

For example, Tom Selleck was born in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1940s. The man is a big baseball aficionado. As such, we see Magnum wearing a Detroit Tigers ball cap throughout the series. 

But here we are...

CBS released a first look preview of its upcoming “Magnum P.I.“ series.

The show has been updated for today. Thomas Sullivan Magnum is played by actor Jay Hernandez. His backstory is that of a former Navy SEAL turned private investigator in Hawaii.

He doesn’t sport the ‘stache, but he does have a goatee. 

Magnum’s military buddies T.C. (Stephen Hill) and Rick (Zachary Knighton) are found in CBS’s new preview. 

In the original series, Rick was a club owner with connections to organized crime. Not sure what his story is in the new series, but it appears they are staying true to the persona created by Larry Manetti in the original.

T.C. was a former military chopper pilot who owned a company called Island Hoppers in “Magnum P.I.’s” original run. T.C. is a former Marine helicopter pilot in the new show, and he looks to be driving a “bumble bee striped” Hughes 500D helicopter like the one in the original series (which has made at least one appearance in CBS’s “Hawaii Five-O” series). 

The biggest change is that of the character Higgins. As is often the case in reboots — whether we are talking “Starbuck” in the “Battlestar Galactica” reboot, or “Cousin Kono” in the “Hawaii Five-O” reboot — a gender change is apparently in order. 

Jonathan Higgins is now Juliet Higgins (Perdita Weeks). Like the original character, she manages author Robin Masters’s Hawaiian estate, and has a past in British Intelligence (and is obviously more attractive than actor Jonathan Hillerman ever hoped to be...). She also has two dobermans (which I assume are named Zeus and Apollo). 

In “Magnum P.I.’s” original 1980s run, Thomas Magnum was hired by Robin Masters’s estate to test out the security systems and protocols on the property. He lived in the beach house, was allowed to drive Robin’s Ferrari 308 GTS, worked as a private investigator, and perpetually sparred with Higgins. 

It appears those basic plot points hold true to form. What we don’t know at this point is how the show will evolve over time. 

Author Robin Masters was something of an enigma in the original series. You never really saw the character, and Magnum started to speculate — as the series wore on — that Higgins was actually the famed pulp novelist. 

If you watch CBS’s first look preview, you will hear Magnum suggest that “he” is the inspiration for Masters’s novels in the new series. That is a departure from the original show, but is an interesting angle to take. 

There are other nods to the original series in the new preview. The “Cross of Lorraine” rings that Magnum, TC, and Rick wear make an appearance in the trailer. 

We also see Magnum riding a surf ski, wearing a Detroit Tigers cap, and driving a red Ferrari 308 GT (among other Ferraris) in the preview. 

I’m hopeful that Lenkov and CBS will follow the precedent set by the “Hawaii Five-O” reboot and feature a new opening credit sequence with the original “Magnum P.I.” theme song (written by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter).  

Justin Lin (of the “Fast & Furious” franchise) is directing the pilot episode. 

I don’t know how this new “Magnum P.I.” reboot will be — or how it will go over with fans of the original series. 

But on first glance, it looks like it will be a lot of fun. 

If only we could get CBS to give its “CBS All Access” subscribers an early shot at watching the pilot episode...

Speaking of “Hawaii Five-O,” I would expect to see some crossover episodes next season with the two series…which could be awesome!

P.S. -- Tom Selleck had to turn down the role of Indiana Jones in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” because he was committed to filming “Magnum P.I.”

In case you didn’t know, Selleck & Co. did an episode that was an “homage” to Indiana Jones called “Legend of the Lost Art” in the final season of the series.

I just thought I’d mention it because it was one of my favorite episodes on the series: 

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