‘Magnum P.I.’ Features Heated Car Chase in Monday Night’s Episode

This week’s episode of Magnum P.I. finds Thomas Magnum in a dramatic car chase, with armed criminals breathing down his back on a Hawaiian highway.

In “Die He Said,” a man dying of lymphoma hires Magnum (Jay Hernandez) to find his estranged brother for a life-saving bone marrow transplant. However, the brother also needs Magnum’s help, since he is on the run from a bunch of armed criminals he stole money from.

Meanwhile, the case also floods Magnum with some unsavory memories of a SEAL team mission that went awry in his past.

“Who are these guys?” Magnum asked the brother while they were being chased.

“They think I stole their money,” he replied. “OK, I stole their money!”

“Hang on!” Magnum said as he sped on in an expensive car owned by Robin Masters.

“OK Mr. P.I., we’re your new clients now,” one of the criminals told Magnum in a scene.

In the last preview scene, Magnum has multiple guns pointed at him. One of the men with a gun said, “Let’s smoke this guy!”

“OK, let me say one thing… run!” Magnum yelled as gunshots exploded.

The new episode guest starts Karl Yune as Bobby Maulua, the brother whose life is in Magnum’s hands. Yune should be familiar to many, as he starred as Maseo Tamashiro/Sarab on The CW’s Arrow. Yune also appeared in the movies Memoirs of a Geisha, Speed Racer and Real Steel.

The new version of Magnum P.I. follows the same format as the original 1980s Tom Selleck series, adding in a few modern twists. Magnum is now a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and Higgins is replaced with Juliet Higgins, played by Perdita Weeks.

The rest of the cast includes Zachary Knighton as Rick Wright, Stephen Hill as TC Calvin, Amy Hill as Jumu and Tim Kang as Detective Katsumoto. Kimee Balmilero has also appeared as her Hawaii Five-0 character Noelani Cunha.

So far this season, the Magnum reboot has been a hit with CBS viewers. In October, it was one of three new CBS shows to get a full 22-episode season order, alongside the drama God Friended Me and comedy The Neighborhood.

Last week’s episode, “The Cat Who Cried Wolf,” drew 5.21 million total viewers and a 0.8 18-49 rating, which matched the previous episode, reports TV By The Numbers.

While Hernandez dropped Selleck’s famous mustache, he does still wear Hawaiian shirts frequently on the show.

“I wanted to make sure it was going to feel distinct from Tom Selleck in a way because you can’t replace Tom, you can’t do that,” Hernandez said of his performance in a Star2 interview. “I knew whoever was coming in (to the role) would (get) a lot of criticism, I think … So I was leery of that. I wanted to make sure the creative people knew that they had to do something a little different.”

Magnum P.I. airs on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.

Photo Credit: CBS