‘Magnum P.I.’ is back in business, now on NBC

BY JAY BOBBIN

“Magnum P.I.” rose from the television ashes once before, and now, the show is doing it again.

The Hawaii-based detective series that made Tom Selleck a star had a second life on CBS, in a reboot that put Jay Hernandez in the title role. That version lasted four years on that network, and its cancellation was met with an outcry by fans ... who then got a reprieve when NBC picked up the drama for two 10-episode runs. The first of those begins Sunday, Feb. 19, as Magnum and his personal and professional partner Juliet Higgins (Perdita Weeks) search for a woman who was with a married-to-someone-else man when he died in a car accident.

“It was incredibly humbling, the outpouring of support,” executive producer Eric Guggenheim reflects of the fan base that has kept “Magnum P.I.” going. “I mean, there was a billboard in (New York’s)

Times Square! Jay and I were both saying that we couldn’t believe it. We knew we had a loyal audience, but the way they rallied was just so moving. We really owe it to the fans to deliver for them. They did their part in helping to rescue the show.”

In that spirit, Guggenheim

– who also was an executive producer of the CBS reboot of “Hawaii Five-0” – promises more of the “Magnum” mix of “humor and mystery and a little bit of action. I will say that I think this (fifth) season is probably the most emotional one we’ve done. It’s also probably the most serialized.” Indeed, a continuing plot involves the former military commander (played by returnee James Remar) of Magnum and his pals Rick and TC (Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill); also, former police detective Gordon Katsumoto (Tim Kang) seeks reinstatement.

The new police foil for Magnum is Chris Childs, played by Michael Rady (“Chicago Med”). “He’s very different than Katsumoto,” Guggenheim explains. “He’s cockier and he’s more willing to break the rules, and he just adds this new element that’s so great for us.”

Arguably the biggest development, though, is the romance between Magnum and Higgins – which they try to keep to themselves, at least initially. “Things are certainly more complicated than ever between them,” Guggenheim acknowledges. “These two characters are opposites in so many ways that no matter what we do with them moving forward, we’re always going to have that sort of friction between them.”

While well into production on the new “Magnum” stories, Guggenheim admits, “Even now, I’m like, ‘Wow. Did we really cheat death? Are we really back?’ Any time you get renewed, you feel kind of blessed, but this is really special. It makes all of us appreciate each other and the show even more.”