The iconic 1980s TV seriesMagnum P.I.is coming back to the small screen from producersJohn RogersandEva Longoriaat ABC. Instead of a traditional reboot, thisnew TV serieswill not focus on Thomas Magnum, originally played byTom Selleck, but instead center on his daughter, Lily “Tommy” Magnum.John Rogerswill write the script and executive produce withEva Longoriathrough her UnbeliEVAble Entertainment company, along withBen Spectorand Kung Fu Monkey’sJennifer Court, for Universal TV.
Deadlinereports that the ABC series, entitledMagnum, will follow Lily Magnum as she returns to Hawaii to take over her father’sprivate investigationfirm. Lily and her friends combine the “seedy underbelly” of crime and international espionage with the tropical beaches of Hawaii. Lily is also trying to solve a personal case, delving deeper into the failed spy operation that ended her career with Naval Intelligence.
Eva LongoriaandBen Spector’s company UnbeliEVAble Entertainment have an overall deal with Universal TV, and they were delving through the company’s catalog titles to find one worthy of rebooting.John Rogerscame up with a way to focus the show on Thomas Magnum’s daughter, sinceTom Selleck’s title character took custody of her in theseries finale, which aired in 1988. Here’s what bothEva LongoriaandBen Spectorhad to say in a joint statement.
“We knew no one could replace the iconic role of Thomas Magnum, so John decided to make the reboot a sequel and continue the adventure of a Magnum - his daughter, who was established in theoriginal series.”
It isn’t known if there are plans forTom Selleckto return as hisiconic characterThomas Magnum in this new series from ABC. Lily appeared in six episodes of the original series, played byKristen Carreira, who was reunited with her father after being raised by Magnum’s presumed-dead ex-wife Michele and her second husband. After Michele and her husband passed away, Lily was reunited with her father, who promised to give her a stable home life. Before coming aboard Magnum,John Rogerscreated TNT’sLeverageand the network’s current hit seriesThe Librarians, which is heading into its third season.Eva Longoriarecently starred in and executive produced the NBC comedy seriesTelenovela.
