Jay Hernandez took over the iconic role of private investigator Thomas Sullivan Magnum from Tom Selleck with the launch of the revitalized and updated series, Magnum P.I. Running for five seasons, it launched on 24 September, 2018 with the episode I Saw the Sun Rise.

Written by Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim the new series updated the original while trying to keep the feel of it. The episode opens with the new characters in a high-action sequence because it’s a Robin Masters book.

Robin Masters is a famed writer using Thomas and the military exploits of his friends as a basis of his books. As a result, Thomas serves as security for Masters’ estate, much to the chagrin of the estate’s majordomo Juliet Higgins (Perdita Weeks) and her two dogs, Zeus and Apollo.

His best buddies, T.C. (Stephen Hill) who runs Island Hoppers a tourist helicopter service, while Rick (Zachary Kingston) runs a big beach club and is a little connected. We also get introduced to a new friend, Nuzo (Domenick Lombardozzi). They all served and were POWs together afterward they all found their way to Hawaii instead of making it all the way home to the mainland.

Thomas works as a P.I. on the islands. In the first episode, we get the familiar Magnum tropes, the Ferrari, the cross ring, the inner monologue, the banter, the style, and the gorgeous Hawaiian locations.

When Nuzo gets kidnapped and murdered, Thomas refuses to stand down despite being told to back off by Honolulu PD’s Lt. Tanaka (Sung Kang). The leads bring Thomas to Captain Buck Greene (James Remar), another legacy character, and information that could tie not only to Nuzo’s murder but to stolen Iraqi gold.

It’s a solid introduction to the characters, updating and playing with them nicely. Weeks’ Higgins is awesome and can handle herself in a fight (she’s former MI6), Thomas is still behind on his debts, and the friendships are there from the get-go.

It’s not the original, but it feels like a nice take on the beloved series.

From the Head Down was also written by Lenkov and Guggenheim and it debuted on 1 October, 2018.

After establishing relationships and characters in the first episode, let’s see where the series goes as Thomas helps a struggling fisherman and vet, Dan Sawyer (Carl Weathers). It seems Dan caught a thirty-pound tuna worth $350,000 and someone has stolen it.

But when Thomas tracks down the thief, he realizes that they need his help too. Tua (Peter Shinkoda) has had his family kidnapped and is being held for ransom, they want the fish, and Tua works with Dan. It seems there may be something else in the fish that the kidnappers want.

Thomas, Rick and T.C. go to pull off the trade but also have to find a way to get the fish back to Dan. But then, they find themselves caught up in spycraft but Thomas and Juliet are great at working together, and their chemistry is wonderful as the episode plays out.

There are also some nice nods to the original, Dan wears a Da Nang ballcap, Higgins is working on a boat model, T.C. is coaching little league, football in this case, and Thomas says he’ll stay out of the wine cellar.

You can watch the the entire series season by season, or pick up The Complete Series on DVD from Paramount Canada. Aloha!