Get the paddles, because Magnum P.I. just might have a pulse.
Three weeks after CBS unceremoniously cancelled the island drama — and barely a week after TVLine first told you that lead producer Universal TV was shopping the series — there is a report that some combination of NBC and USA Network might offer Thomas a new place to hang his floral shirts.
Our sister site Deadline is hearing that one scenario has NBC offering Magnum P.I. Season 5 a home, while sister cabler USA Network reruns the four previous seasons.
One sticky wicket in the way of such a deal/”save” is that co-producer CBS Studios still holds some rights that would need to be negotiated away, and the options on the cast’s contracts expire June 30. (No involved parties commented for Deadline’s story.)
Magnum‘s fourth season season averaged 7.3 million total viewers and a 0.7 demo rating (with Live+7 playback), down just a tick from its Season 3 tallies (7.5 mil/0.8). Out of the 14 dramas that CBS aired this past TV season, it ranked No. 9 in both measures — though both CSI: Vegas (6.8 mil/0.8) and S.W.A.T. (6.5 mil/0.8), which drew smaller audiences, scored renewals.
Deadline at the time reported that a mutually agreeable new licensing deal could not be reached with Universal TV, as waning linear ratings drive down what a network is willing to pay. CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl in turn told TVLine, “You have some tough decisions to make and you have lots of factors — and I’m not going to rule [the licensing fee] out as one of them.”
Would you follow Magnum, Higgins et al to NBC?