Thomas Magnum may not be hanging up his Hawaiian shirt after all.
According to Deadline, talks are underway to air a fifth season of the Hawaii-based action detective series “Magnum P.I.” on NBC, with older episodes airing on the USA Network. Peacock could end up with streaming rights.
CBS surprised fans on May 12 when it canceled the series, which stars Jay Hernandez, after negotiations between CBS Studios and Universal Television, which co-owned the production, broke down over licensing fees.
The show, a reboot of the 1980s series starring Tom Selleck, was the highest-rated series to be canceled this season and was a hit overseas.
CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl told TVLine the cancellation wasn't easy. “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,” she said. “It was a great team to work with, and one of the tougher decisions we had to make.”
Universal Television began shopping the series to other broadcasters after it was canceled, and the current negotiations to resurrect the series could still break down, Deadline reports. However, Universal and NBC are owned by the same parent company, which could make a deal easier to achieve.
New episodes would likely come as a midseason replacement. NBC's fall lineup is already set.
No one is officially commenting on the report, but behind the scenes, the race is on to complete a deal by the end of the month when the options on the cast expire. Universal TV would have to extend the options if negotiations go beyond that date.
Efforts to save the series had already been gathering steam on social media, and the cast has offered its support.
Zachary Knighton, who plays Rick, recently replied to a tweet, "Never give up... we hear you and appreciate you."
The show also stars Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins, Stephen Hill as "TC," Amy Hill as Kumu and Tim Kang as Detective Gordon Katsumoto.
“Magnum” employs several hundred people in Hawaii, including technicians, film crew and extras. CBS currently airs another drama based on Oahu, “NCIS: Hawai’i,” which was renewed for a second season.
If it lives on, the show would join a small group of series to overcome cancellations and find a new broadcast home. In recent years, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” moved to NBC after it was canceled by Fox, and Netflix stepped in to save “Manifest” after it was axed by NBC.
