Magnum P.I.: NBC Confirms When Final Episodes Premiere

In June, NBC announced that Magnum P.I., which was cancelled by CBS last year before NBC stepped in to save it, would be ending with Season 5, ten episodes of which had already aired in March and April of this year. At the time, fans weren’t given any indication of when the remaining ten episodes would arrive on the network, but now the wait for news on the “final chapter” of the series is over. NBC announced its new, updated fall television schedule on Wednesday (via Futon Critic) including Magnum P.I. The series returns on Wednesday, October 4th at 9 p.m. ET after reruns of Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, or Chicago PD.

Magnum P.I. moving to the fall lineup is most likely a result of the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike and the SAG-AFTRA strike, which began last week. Both guild are striking against studios and streamers in an effort to secure better contracts for writers and actors and, as a result, film and television production in Hollywood has largely ground to a halt, prompting networks to have to make major adjustments to their schedules. CBS recently had to make adjustments to their schedule, as did The CW.

Magnum P.I. Had Initially Been Renewed for Two More Seasons

Magnum P.I.‘s second cancellation came as a surprise to fans when it was announced last month, in large part because when it was announced last July that NBC was picking the series up, it was renewed for two seasons and at least 20 episodes with an option for more. However, when the announcement that Season 5 would indeed be the last for the series, Deadline reported that the series’ cast was set to have their option expire on June 30th, putting it in line with the then-potential SAG-AFTRA strike. It was speculated that had NBC picked up the cast’s option, it might be seen as a waste of money by higher ups at the network since it would mean a lengthy wait for an actual renewal on the series (perhaps not coming until next summer). 

CBS Has Also Changed its Fall TV Schedule

NBC isn’t alone in having to adjust its fall schedule due to the ongoing strikes. CBS recently announced that they had made updates to their fall television lineup as well, now adding Paramount Network’s Yellowstone to air on CBS this fall, beginning with the very first episode.

The new CBS schedule released this week sees Yellowstone taking over the prime Sunday night slot on the network. Yellowstone will air on Sunday nights at 9pm ET, starting with Season 1. On days when CBS only airs one NFL game, Yellowstone will air back-to-back episodes beginning at 8 pm ET. There are more than four seasons already in the bag, so CBS has plenty of Yellowstone to work with.

What is Magnum P.I. About?

Jay Hernandez starred in the series as Thomas Magnum, a decorated former Navy SEAL who, upon returning home from Afghanistan, repurposes his military skills to become a private investigator. A charming rogue, an American hero and a die-hard Detroit Tigers fan, Magnum lives in a guest cottage on Robin’s Nest, the luxurious estate where he works as a security consultant to supplement his P.I. business. The show is a revival of the classic series starring Tom Selleck.

Magnum, PI also stars Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins, Zachary Knighton as Orville “Rick” Wright, Stephen Hill as Theodore “TC” Calvin, Tim Kang as Det. Gordon Katsumoto, and Amy Hill as Teuila “Kumu” Tuileta.