Almost 24 years to the day after the original MacGyver came to a close after seven seasons on the air, we now have our first look at CBS’ upcoming update, which aims to introduce a new generation of viewers to the kinds of engineering magic one can put together using just a dime, a guitar string and a pack of firecrackers. Check out the trailer below and try to hold back the adrenaline from flying through your body.
I know, I know. It takes a sec to get used to seeing X-Men franchise star Lucas Till as the titular brainiac Mac, after so many years of only picturing Richard Dean Anderson in that role. And yes, there’s something about Till’s smarm and borderless self-confidence that makes one want to reach into the screen and slap something. And that last winky-winky bit in the airplane is insufferable. But this is still MacGyver, and it’s more about seeing seemingly inescapable situations getting bamboozled by whatever objects just happened to be in the vicinity.
In MacGyver, the twentysomething Mac is behind the formation of a new (but not necessarily publicized) government organization where he can showcase his amazing knack for using science and critical thinking to solve any problem that comes his way. And as you might imagine, some of those problems are extremely dangerous as he makes his way around the globe with the former CIA agent and high five-bypasser Lincoln, as played by former CSI star George Eads.
Also starring Addison Timlin, Michelle Krusiec and more, MacGyver looks like a bright-eyed and flaming-tailed action-adventure series that thankfully doesn’t take itself too seriously. (Something that bothers me about Scorpion in the “lead characters who are smarter than everyone else” dramas department.) The humor isn’t going to split your sides open for every episode’s duration, of course, but who needs jokes when you’ve got a guy who can skid down a non-operating escalator and then explode a vehicle using a makeshift bow and arrow?
Fan. Tastic. Even though this series would have been cool on a grittier network like FX or Starz, it’s hard to hate on CBS’s big pockets allowing for stunts like these to get used in a pilot episode. Back when MacGyver was first reported to return to TV audiences – and no, not with that crowdfunded business – I wasn’t confident that this show could or would retain the energetic madness that was the original series. But now, as the plumes of smoke start to dissipate, I think they’re definitely onto something.
Especially if he’s actually talking about Richard Dean Anderson’s MacGyver when he talks about his dad. Let that be true.
While an official premiere date has yet to be unveiled, we do know that MacGyver will take over CBS’ fall schedule on Friday nights, which means anyone within the key demographic will probably be watching it on DVR later in the weekend. To see when everything else is premiering this summer, check out our TV schedule.
