Magnum PI: Season Five Ratings

(Photo by: NBC)

In May 2022, CBS cancelled the Magnum PI series after four years. NBCUniversal owns the show, so NBC picked it up for a fifth season, likely hoping that CBS viewers would follow the series to a new network. How will the series do on a new night with a different timeslot? Will Magnum PI be cancelled or renewed for season six on NBC? Stay tuned. *Status Update Below.

An action-adventure drama series, the Magnum PI TV show stars Jay Hernandez, Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Amy Hill, and Tim Kang. This reboot of the 1980s TV show follows Thomas Magnum (Hernandez), a decorated former Navy SEAL who repurposes his military skills to become a private investigator. He 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 “majordomo” of the property is Juliet Higgins (Weeks), a beautiful and commanding disavowed MI:6 agent who keeps Magnum in line. When Magnum needs backup on a job, he turns to his trusted buddies and fellow POW survivors, chopper pilot Theodore “TC” Calvin (Hill) and Orville “Rick” Wright (Knighton), a former Marine door-gunner who now runs a nightclub. Magnum frequently has run-ins with police detective Gordon Katsumoto (Kang) and the two are more alike than either cares to admit. The unofficial “House Mom” and cultural curator of Robin’s Nest, Teuila “Kumu” Tuileta (Hill) is also one of Magnum’s biggest fans.

The ratings are typically the best indication of a show’s chances of staying on the air. The higher the ratings, the better the chances of survival. This chart will be updated as new ratings data becomes available.

1/4 update: You can see the latest night’s ratings in context.

Note: If you’re not seeing the updated charts, please try reloading the page or view them here and here.

For comparisons: Season four of Magnum PI on CBS averaged a 0.42 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.24 million viewers.

Note: An early report indicated the series had been renewed by NBC for fifth and sixth seasons of 10 episodes each. We later learned that it was actually picked for a fifth season of 20 episodes instead.

Note: These are the final national ratings, including all live+same day viewing and DVR playback (through 3:00 AM). Early fast affiliate ratings (estimates) are indicated with an “*”. While these numbers don’t include further delayed or streaming viewing, they are a very good indicator of how a show is performing, especially when compared to others on the same channel. There can be other economic factors involved in a show’s fate, but typically the higher-rated series are renewed and the lower-rated ones are cancelled.

What do you think? Do you like the Magnum PI TV series on NBC? Should it be cancelled or renewed for a sixth season?

*6/24/23 update: Magnum PI has been cancelled by NBC after five seasons.