It’s a good news/bad news situation for fans of Magnum PI. The bad news is that the show is coming to an end after five seasons. The good news is that due to the Hollywood strikes going on, that last batch of episodes is coming sooner than expected.
It’s been a roller coaster for fans of the reboot of the classic Tom Selleck series. After four successful years on CBS, fans were rocked when the series was canceled without warning. Thankfully, NBC stepped in to renew it for two 10-episode seasons. The network later amended that to say it would be Season 5 split in half, with the first half premiering in February 2023.
But in June, NBC confirmed the series would end with the last half of Season 5. A key reason is the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes hitting Hollywood and curtailing production. NBC thus figured it was cheaper to just end the show and release the cast from its options rather than pay when it was uncertain when Season 6 could be filmed.
Originally, Season 5B was going to be in early 2024, but NBC’s new schedule shows it’s been boosted up.
When does Magnum PI Season 5B now premiere?
Thanks to needing a new schedule to fill air time, NBC has been using a few already completed series like The Irrational and Found to plug holes. It also will now premiere Magnum PI Season 5B on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 10/9c, following Season 2 of Quantum Leap.
There are yet to be any details on what the last episodes will involve or if the writers were able to shift the Season 5 finale to now be a series finale. So while it will be bittersweet for Magnum PI fans to bid the investigator and his friends goodbye, at least the last episodes will be coming sooner to wrap it up.
Magnum PI Season 5B premieres Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 10/9c on NBC. Episodes will stream on Peacock the following day.