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Why Magnum PI won’t be saved this time

By Alexandria Ingham

"The Man in the Secret Room" - While Magnum helps out his friend Russell Harlan (guest star Lee Majors) and temporarily works as the head of a hotel's security, he investigates the death of a guest who was thrown from her room's balcony while working on a secret investigation of her own. Also, Icepick (guest star Corbin Bernsen) is released from jail and is trying to keep a secret from Rick, on MAGNUM P.I., Friday, Nov. 8 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L-R: Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum and Lee Majors as Russell Harlan Photo: Karen Neal/CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
"The Man in the Secret Room" - While Magnum helps out his friend Russell Harlan (guest star Lee Majors) and temporarily works as the head of a hotel's security, he investigates the death of a guest who was thrown from her room's balcony while working on a secret investigation of her own. Also, Icepick (guest star Corbin Bernsen) is released from jail and is trying to keep a secret from Rick, on MAGNUM P.I., Friday, Nov. 8 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L-R: Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum and Lee Majors as Russell Harlan Photo: Karen Neal/CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved /
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As much as we would love another “save Magnum PI” campaign, it’s just not going to happen this time. Here’s why the show is ending.

We would love to see Magnum PI saved another year. When the show was abruptly canceled in 2022, fans quickly campaigned to save the show and it didn’t take too long for NBC to pick it up. Now we’re back in the same situation.

There are still 10 episodes of the series to air, but there isn’t any time to change the ending. The scripts had already been written, and the series is pretty much ready to go. We were surprised to find out that NBC was holding it for next year considering the writers strike, but that could change with how long the strike is going on for.

But why is it being canceled? Why won’t another network step in? Here are the details.

The cast options for Magnum PI have expired

The big issue for NBC was the upcoming cast option expiry date. That happened on Friday, June 30, which coincided with the date that the SAG-AFTRA negotiations would come to an end.

With so much uncertainty around strike action and when shows could get back into production, NBC decided not to risk anything. The live ratings weren’t what the network had hoped for—although scheduling was a huge issue for that—and NBC was ready to put a more concrete plan together for the future.

This is why the series won’t be picked up by another network, though. It’s not the live ratings but the cast options. They’ve expired. The actors are going to start looking for other work, and that means there’s a risk that some of the main players in Magnum PI won’t be available if the show is saved. No network is going to risk that.

Next. Why was Magnum PI canceled again?. dark

Magnum PI is available to stream on Peacock.

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