Magnum P.I. Will End With 2-Hour Series Finale — Get Airdate, New Storyline Teases

Matt Webb Mitovich
·3 min read
3

Magnum P.I. fans, we now know — definitively! — when exactly you will have to say a very sad aloha to Thomas, Juliet et al.

Although a promo that aired this week indicated that Magnum P.I. will return from the holiday break on Jan. 3, 2024 with but a singular episode, TVLine can confirm — double-secret officially! — that the island drama will in fact come to an end that Wednesday night, with a double-episode finale airing 9 to 11 pm ET.

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In the first of the two episodes, titled “Ashes to Ashes,” Magnum and Higgins re-examine a fatal arson investigation at the request of TC and Mahina, leading to a sinister discovery, while Kumu volunteers with Rick at a veterans’ crisis call center.

Then in the actual series finale, titled “The Big Squeeze,” Magnum and Higgins take a major step forward in their relationship. At the same time, the past comes back to haunt them when a previous suspect becomes their client. Elsewhere, TC aims to scale up Island Hoppers and Rick gets a new business partner.

The back of Magnum‘s farewell run has been averaging 4.9 million total viewers and a 0.39 demo rating this fall — right on par with Season 5A, which was saddled with a sad Sunday time slot. Out of all entertainment programs NBC has been airing this fall, the island drama ranks No. 4 in audience (trailing The Voice and the already-renewed freshman dramas The Irrational and Found) and No. 5 in the demo (with Quantum Leap also slipping ahead of it).

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Magnum fans have not given up the fight, though, to compel NBC to change its mind and reverse the cancellation verdict handed down in June.

“This group of fans is very passionate,” cast member Zachary Knighton remarked to TVLine during a recent interview, just as another “#SaveMagnumPI” billboard — the 25th overall — had been rented out, in Times Square. “There was a pretty big campaign to save Happy Endings when we got cancelled [by ABC], but nothing like this,” he marveled.

As for the ersatz series finale itself, “I actually think it’s quite satisfying. I’m really proud of the finale,” showrunner Eric Guggenheim previously told TVLine. “There are a couple of threads left dangling that would have been picked up in a Season 6, but I didn’t want to end on a cliffhanger. If I’m being honest, I guess I wanted to play it safe.”

Perdita Weeks meanwhile told TVLine that fans can expect from the final two episodes “a bump in the road,” some “very good news” and “a happy ending I hope people will be happy with.”

“It’s bittersweet, obviously,” to end the series after five seasons, she noted, “but at the same time it ended in a really great place…. I feel pleased for the characters.”

Want scoop on Magnum P.I.‘s final two episodes, or for any other TV show ? Email InsideLine@tvline.com, and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!

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