Magnum P.I., Cagney & Lacey reboots and more get pilot orders from CBS
Television classics Magnum P.I. and Cagney & Lacey have gotten pilot orders from CBS, according to Deadline. The new Magnum P.I. series comes from writer Peter Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim (executive producers and showrunners for the Hawaii Five-O reboot), and will center around the four main characters from the original series. The character of Higgins (played in the original by John Hillerman) will be female. She will now be disavowed former MI:6 agent Juliet Higgins. The reboot will explore “brotherhood forged by the trauma of combat, what it means to return home an ex-soldier, and a commitment to continuing to serve while in the private sector.” Lenkov and Guggenheim will executive produce with Davis Entertainment’s John Davis and John Fox. CBS TV studios will co-produce with Universal TV. Original star Tom Selleck has reportedly given his blessing, but will not be involved.
The original series, which ran from 1980 to 1988, starred Selleck, Hillerman, Roger E. Mosley and Larry Manetti, and centered on the laid-back former Navy SEAL as he runs a PI firm out of the guest house of a gorgeous Hawaiian beachfront estate owned by the reclusive author Robin Masters. Created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson, Magnum P.I. famously cost Selleck the role of Indiana Jones due to his series commitment, though it won him an Emmy in 1984 and made him an ’80s icon. ABC tried a sequel-style reboot of the show in 2016, which was produced by Eva Longoria and John Rogers (Leverage).
Cagney & Lacey was a 1980s cop drama starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless, which won eight Emmy Awards. The reboot of the series will follow two female police detectives in Los Angeles. CBS TV Studios will co-produce the series with MGM Television. The show ran for seven seasons on CBS, from 1982-1988. That is all the information available about the reboot at this time.
Chiefs, a new show from David Hudgins, Carol Mendelsohn and Sony Pictures TV Studios, has also gotten a pilot commitment. It reportedly looks at the professional and personal lives of three female Chiefs of Police in Los Angeles who have to work together to catch a serial killer. Hudgins will write the series. He’ll produce with Carol Mendelsohn and Julie Weitz from Carol Mendelsohn Productions. Sony Pictures TV will co-produce with CBS TV Studios.
What do you guys think of reboots of Magnum P.I. and Cagney & Lacey, and the new show Chiefs? Let us know in the comments.
