Magnum P.I. has moved to NBC for two more seasons because the show was cancelled by CBS in 2022.
Rebooting classic television shows has become a popular way for networks to grab the attention of their audiences.
CBS rebooted Magnum P.I. in 2018, but then cancelled the series after four seasons. Fortunately, NBC stepped in and renewed the show for two more seasons on their channel, and this is why Magnum P.I. has now moved to NBC.
The golden age of reboots
We may be well past the golden age of television, but with just about every television network scrambling to retain its dwindling audience, it seems that television has now entered the golden age of reboots.
There is nothing quite like nostalgia to get audiences interested in a show and nothing that quite like a remake of a classic 80s, 90s, or early 2000s sitcom.
In the last few years, many beloved shows from different genres and eras, including Gilmore Girls, MacGyver, iCarly, Rugrats, and Magnum P.I. have all had their own successful reboots. These have managed to renew interest in their respective franchises.
Why did Magnum P.I. move to NBC?
The 2018 reboot of the 80s classic action show, Magnum P.I., has been one of the more successful reboots in recent years. In fact, by the time that the fourth season of the show was airing on CBS in 2021, it was reaching a total of 7.2 million viewers.
However, even after four successful seasons on CBS, Magnum P.I. was cancelled by the network in May 2022. CBS did not put out an official statement about why the network decided to cancel such a successful show.
But Kelly Kahl, the CBS Entertainment President, also refused to deny that high licensing fees were the reason why the network chose not to renew the show.
It is also possible that high licensing fees were just part of the reason why CBS cancelled Magnum P.I., as this show was one of several shows cancelled by CBS prior to the network’s spring season. Other shows that were cancelled include B Positive, Good Sam, and How We Roll.
The cancellation of Magnum P.I. came as a shock to the show’s cast, crew, and fans. In fact, Eric Guggenheim, the Magnum P.I. showrunner, has confirmed that they were already planning the fifth season of the series when they were told about the cancellation.
Fortunately, the news of Magnum P.I.’s cancellation barely had time to settle before the show was picked up by NBC to air on their channel for two more seasons.
This is likely because the show was already so popular and the creators already had plans for the next season.
How quickly did NBC pick up Magnum P.I.?
Magnum P.I was officially picked up by NBC on 30 June 2022, just one month after it was cancelled by CBS.
Although the announcement that Magnum P.I. was not concluded for good came fairly quickly, Eric Guggenheim revealed that he knew that the show would be picked up again even earlier than that.
NBC apparently contacted Guggenheim within 24 hours of the show being cancelled and the new deal was finalised just six weeks later.
What is the new NBC and Magnum P.I. agreement?
Fortunately, the fact that Magnum P.I. was picked up by NBC so quickly following its cancellation meant that none of the creators’ hard work in planning the fifth season had to go to waste.
So far, the new NBC and Magnum P.I. agreement is set for two seasons, with a 20-episode order, but NBC may decide to renew the series for more seasons in the future.
Until then, fans of the show are guaranteed to get at least a fifth and sixth season, with 20 episodes each.
Will Magnum P.I. change when it moves to NBC?
The news that Magnum P.I. was not cancelled for good and would essentially just be moving to NBC was definitely music to the ears of fans who had started petitions and erected a billboard in Times Square, in an endeavour to reverse the cancellation.
However, as good as this news was, shows that move networks often have to go through many changes, including losing network-bound writers and producers.
Fortunately, even though Magnum P.I. will lose some of the crew working behind the scenes on the show, most of the cast will return for the fifth season, which officially started airing on NBC on 19 February 2023.
Eric Guggenheim has said that the “DNA” of the show will remain the same, even if it does become slightly more serialised, with more humour and romance throughout.
