Happy Ending’s Zachary Knighton Joins ‘Magnum P.I.’ Reboot
The ‘Magnum P.I.’ reboot has added another member to its team as ‘Happy Endings’ star Zachary Knighton joins the pilot as Orville “Rick” Wright.
The rebooted version of the show comes from Peter Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim, two of the people behind CBS’s long-running ‘Hawaii Five-O’ series. Lenkov was also showrunner on the ‘MacGyver’ reboot, so is no stranger to bringing 80’s action shows back to the screen.
The basic premise of the new iteration is pretty similar to the classic 80s show, with a few tweaks. Thomas Magnum is a decorated ex-Navy SEAL who returns from Afghanistan and becomes a private investigator. He’s helped out by ex-Navy buddies Theodore “TC” Calvin and Orville “Rick” Wright. The biggest change comes with the character of Higgins who has been gender-switched in this iteration to be Juliet Higgins, a disavowed former MI:6 agent. Together they, solve crimes, taking on cases no one else will touch, along with exploring the bond between a group of ex-military guys as they deal with the aftermath of war.
Knighton is set to play Rick, A former door gunner with the Marines, and friend of Magnum’s who was a POW alongside him in Iraq. He now runs Oahu’s coolest nightclub and, if you’re after info, Rick has the connections, and is the man you go to see.
Along with ‘Happy Endings’ Knighton has also appeared in ‘Santa Clarita Diet’, ‘Parenthood’ and ‘Flashforward’.
Jay Hernandez (‘Scandal’, Suicide Squad’, The Expanse’) has taken the lead role as Magnum. He’s joined by Perdita Weeks (‘Penny Dreadful’, ‘The Tudors’) who will play Juliet Higgins, the former MI:6 agent turned “majordomo”, i.e. the person in charge of the estate owned by famed writer Robin Masters. Just like in the original show, Magnum lives in a guest house on the estate and works security for the writer when he’s not out investigating.
Justin Lin (‘Fast & Furious’ movies, ‘Star Trek Beyond’) is set to direct the pilot episode, but there’s still no guarantee this will go to series… However, given the people involved, I would say it’s extremely likely we will be seeing a new ‘Magnum P.I.’ show in the not too distant future. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
