‘Magnum P.I.’ Making Steamy Changes Ahead of NBC Move

Magnum P.I. is making some changes for the shift from CBS to NBC, the cast and crew teased on Sunday. The new trailer features a shower scene with Magnum and Higgins, which is just a taste of the “sexier” new tone. The first four seasons of the new Magnum P.I. aired on CBS, but NBC said “Aloha” to the residents of Robin Masters’ estate for the 20-episode fifth season.

Jay Hernandez will return as private investigator Thomas Magnum and Perdita Weeks is back as Juliet Higgins, a former MI6 Agent serving as Robin Masters’ majordomo. Towards the end of the show’s run on CBS, showrunner Eric Guggenheim and his writers finally brought Magnum and Higgins together romantically. That means a bit more spice between cases.

“I think that would’ve happened regardless once we put them together,” Guggenheim told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour Sunday, reports Entertainment Tonight. “This season, it is sexier, it is more romantic, it is more emotional.”

“Some of the language has changed a little bit as well. It feels like it’s grown a little bit,” Weeks added. She noted that there is a slow-motion scene in an early Season 5 episode that is reminiscent of Baywatch, but it is not a dream sequence. It is real (at least, real in the fictional universe of the show).

“The rest of the season is showing where that goes and seeing two people who are meant to be together but then having to navigate working together and going through dangerous situations,” Weeks said. “I think you’re really going to enjoy it. It’s even more fun.”

Hernandez noted that it was natural for the show to experience some changes now that Magnum and Higgins are romantically involved. “The dynamic shifts a little bit when it’s somebody you’re in a relationship with,” Hernandez said. “Sometimes I look at these scenes and I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I’d let you do that! Stay home or something like that. I just want to protect you!’ But I have that impulse.”

The romance is also not a “jump-the-shark” moment for the show. “I think a lot of people weren’t worried fan-wise, that they’d lose some of the antagonism or something. But I will reassure everyone that that very much remains,” Weeks said. Hernandez added that there is still plenty of bickering between the two lead characters.

Guggenheim also does not plan to bring Higgins and Magnum together just to split them up later in the season. The writers also felt it was natural for their relationship to turn romantic because of the chemistry between Weeks and Hernandez. “We’ve lived in these characters for so long and we feel like we know them intimately,” Hernandez said. “Without spoiling a storyline, Magnum is a bit more romantic than I kind of imagined in moments, which is quite nice.”

CBS surprisingly canceled Magnum P.I. after four seasons. Since Universal Television is involved in the show’s production, its sister network NBC seemed like the best possible landing spot. CBS Studios is still involved as a co-producer. NBC ordered 20 episodes, which will be part of Season 5 but will air in two 10-episode batches. The first two episodes debut on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

Hernandez, who is also an executive producer on the show, said he was confused by CBS’ cancelation. “It was a shock that the show was going to go away in the first place,” he said, reports Deadline. “I was genuinely just confused… shocked that it happened. I was surprised that it found a new home as that’s such a rare thing to happen.”