Magnum P.I. Reboot’s 10 Biggest Changes To Tom Selleck’s Original Series

While the Magnum P.I. reboot kept some iconic parts of Tom Selleck’s original series, it also made some big changes – for better or worse.

The 2018 reboot of Magnum P.I., currently in its fifth season, contains familiar elements from the beloved 1980s Tom Selleck series to reel in viewers who grew up with the original, but there are also some significant changes. To attract a newer generation, updates were made to reflect the current era and culture. Considering that the original went off the air 30 years prior to the new version, modernizing the characters and stories to be more relatable to today’s audience was a common sense move. The Magnum P.I. reboot made numerous revisions to create new relationship dynamics and storylines while maintaining the spirit of the classic show.

The character of Thomas Magnum is still a former U.S. Navy SEAL and Naval Intelligence officer turned private investigator who doubles as a security consultant at the luxurious Hawaiian home of best-selling action-adventure author Robin Masters. Thomas also continues to wear the trademark Hawaiian shirt and the famous Magnum P.I. Detroit Tigers baseball cap, cruises around the island in a red Ferrari, and relies on help with his cases from friends, Rick, T.C. and Higgins. Building upon this basic foundation, the Magnum P.I. reboot made 10 big changes to Tom Selleck’s Magnum.

10 . Magnum P.I.’s Reboot Introduces Brand-New Regular Characters

The original Magnum P.I. featured semi-recurring characters who Magnum would turn to in an investigation. These characters were in positions of authority within Naval Intelligence, the police department, and the courts, providing classified information to Magnum. In their absence, the Magnum P.I. reboot introduced three new characters: Jin Jeong, a con man who’s trying to reform his life; Kenny “Shammy” Shamberg, a paralyzed war vet who works for T.C.; and Teulia “Kumu” Tuileta, the curator of the culture center on Robin Master’s estate. Though Jin, Shammy, and Kumu are regular citizens, they’ve proven to be resourceful friends who consistently help Magnum in a pinch.

9 . Magnum P.I.’s Reboot Changes Luther Gillis’ Ethnicity

For a few episodes throughout its eight-year run, Tom Selleck’s Magnum pitted the private investigator against an old-school gumshoe named Luther Gillis. The 80s version of Luther was a brash middle-aged white man who used out-of-date stereotypes and refused to try more current detective techniques while working cases. For the reboot, Luther has been recast as a Korean private eye, played by well-known actor Ken Jeong in one of his best roles. This Luther has brought to the show a wild sense of humor and an enjoyment for pulling pranks on Magnum as much as possible.

8. Magnum P.I. Reboot Replaces Lt. Tanaka With Det. Katsumoto

One of the mentors for Tom Selleck’s Magnum was the beloved Lt. Yoshi Tanaka, a veteran member of the Honolulu Police Department who always offered information and wisdom to Magnum whenever he struggled to solve a case. The Magnum P.I. reboot attempted to introduce a younger version of the character in the series pilot, but that version of Tanaka didn’t seem to connect with viewers. Beginning with the reboot’s second episode, the series brought in the character of Gordon Katsumoto, a highly respected detective in the Honolulu Police Department. Det. Katsumoto has remained a regular character ever since, and also become a valued member of Magnum’s inner circle of friends.

7. Robin Masters Doesn’t Appear In The Reboot

During the early seasons of Tom Selleck’s Magnum P.I., viewers would catch a glimpse of Robin Master’s hand holding a phone while talking to his security consultant or hear the author’s voice recording his latest novel. These brief appearances of Robin Masters added to the mystery of Thomas Magnum’s wealthy benefactor. Viewer’s curiosity was also piqued by the knowledge that Masters was played by the legendary Orson Welles. After five and a half seasons of the reboot, audiences haven’t seen or heard Robin Masters, and he is mentioned much less by the characters in this go-around.

6. Magnum P.I. Reboot Changes The Characters’ War Background

A compelling aspect of Tom Selleck’s Magnum P.I. was that Thomas, Rick and T.C. were veterans of the Vietnam War who reflected on their harrowing experiences through episode flashbacks. As the three men sought to re-adjust to civilian living, repercussions from the Vietnam War became an underlying storyline of the series. For the modern era, the reboot changed the mens’ war background to the 2000s War in Afghanistan. Episodes have dealt directly with the difficulty of re-adapting from war and the trauma that many Afghanistan vets have been wrestling with in real life.

5. The Original Show’s Michelle Vietnam Story Is Erased

One of the essential pieces of the Vietnam storyline was that during the war, Magnum married a French-Eurasian nurse named Michelle Hue. Magnum left Vietnam believing Michelle was killed during the 1975 evacuation of Saigon. Her death was staged, so she could serve as a spy for U.S. Naval Intelligence. Magnum eventually learned of the deceit, and Michelle reappeared in a few episodes before dying in a car explosion in Hawaii. Since the new show is focused on the history of the Afghanistan War, the Michelle Vietnam story has been erased.

4 . Rick Struggles Far More Than The Original Show

The Orville “Rick” Wright of the 80s managed the King Kamehameha Club, which was owned by Robin Masters. Rick was portrayed in the original series as a suave, dashing businessperson who attended exclusive parties, dated models, and kept ties with underground crime. The rebooted Rick has nearly been the complete opposite, struggling far more than his counterpart in the original show. Rick has been grappling with keeping his business afloat and being a new dad to a child whose mom doesn’t reciprocate romantic feelings for him.

3. Magnum P.I.’s Reboot Gives More Attention To Hawaiian Culture

More than a few episodes from the original Magnum P.I. centered around Hawaiian legends and mysteries. However, the reboot decided not to include superstitious stories, possibly because they might be considered offensive today, and opted instead to recognize and celebrate more of the culture of Hawaii and Pacific Islanders through the story of Kumu, the museum curator. Powerful stories in which Kumu rescues an artifact stolen by thieves or rallies a crowd to protest the demolition of an ancient burial ground have brought more awareness to the richness of Hawaii, its people, and history.

2. Magnum P.I. Reboot’s Thomas Is Played By A Latino Actor

It was inevitable that any actor who took on the role that made Tom Selleck an overnight star would face comparisons with the mustached heartthrob of the 1980s. In lieu of choosing another white actor to play the character, the new series cast Latino actor Jay Hernandez for its re-envisioning of Thomas Magnum as someone raised in Latino culture. While the reboot hasn’t explored Thoma’s culture, the actor is a Mexican-American who was born in Mexico and raised in California.

1. Higgins Is A Woman In Magnum P.I.’s Reboot

Perhaps the biggest change to the Magnum P.I. reboot, the one that causes a shift from the original in how certain characters interact, is the character of Higgins, now portrayed as a woman. Viewers who watched Selleck as Magnum will fondly remember the private eye’s hysterical rivalry with ex-British military officer Johnathan Quale Higgins III, the manager of the Master’s estate. Both characters spent numerous episodes trying to rankle the ire of the other, usually because Magnum wouldn’t abide by Higgins’ rules. In the reboot, Julie Higgins, a former British operative for MI:6, has quickly become a close partner of Magnum, during his investigations and his romantic life.