MacGyver is bringing in a Lost alum for its upcoming fourth season as a new series regular. Henry Ian Cusick, who most recently starred in the Fox drama The Passage, has joined the cast and is set to play a lead role opposite Lucas Till’s MacGyver. The news comes after former series co-lead George Eads exited the show in Season 3.
As first reported by Deadline, Cusick is set to play Russ, a handsome and quick-witted Oxford-educated ex-Miliary who is a master manipulator and salesman. He is skilled in propaganda and lie detection with an extremely high emotional intelligence.
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He is also described as a very wealthy man used to getting his way known for enjoying the spoils of his fortune, including expensive issues, private jets and a house in Monte Carlo.
Cusick is the second addition to the cast of the action drama for Season 4 following Eads’ exit. Levy Tran was promoted after joining the cast in Season 3.
The outlet reports Cusick and Eads are the same age, and their characters have similar backstories, making it possible the character is Eads’ de facto replacement.
The actor is best known for his roles on Lost and The 100. He is represented by Buchwald, Management 360 and attorney James Feldman.
Eads first announced he would be leaving the action drama after two-and-a-half seasons back in November. At the time, reports surfaced the actor had stormed off the set in October after an altercation. When he returned, he asked to be released from his contract so he could move back to Los Angeles to be closer to his daughter.
The show will also see a big change in Season 4, as the show will not be returning until 2020, with Hawaii Five-0 moving to the Fridays at 8 p.m. ET timeslot, and the second season of Magnum P.I. moving to Fridays at 9 p.m. ET in the fall.
MacGyver is set to return midseason, with a timeslot not yet announced for it. The reboot features Till as a younger MacGyver leading a clandestine team within the U.S. government. As in the original, MacGyver is famous for his survival skills.
“I don’t really like to talk about politics, and I like to think that our show… People can watch it no matter what their political viewpoint is, and come talk about something at the end of the day,” Till said of the series in a recent Global News interview when asked about his character not using guns. “I don’t like the political divisiveness in the [U.S.] right now. But it’s a good conversation to have, to see this guy who doesn’t use guns, who tries not to kill unless he has to, and still stops terrorism.”
