Magnum P.I. is just days away from returning for the second half of its fifth season on October 4, to follow up on the spring finale that aired all the way back in April. Fans of the Jay Hernandez-led show have had a wild ride over the months since, with Season 5B initially being announced for midseason 2024, then the show being cancelled, and then Season 5B being switched to premiering in fall 2023. After some big reveals from the spring finale and teases in the previews for the new episodes, I have some questions that need answers before the final credits roll.
Of course, there are plenty of questions from over the course of the whole series, but I'm going to focus on the events of Season 5, because there's already plenty to wonder about from just this year!
Will Magnum Be Less Reckless?
Magnum, T.C., and Rick were the targets of an assassination plot for the first half of Season 5, but Magnum didn't really take the threat seriously until it was too late, despite Higgins urging him to be more cautious. While all three did survive the first half of the season and the bad guys were taken down, Childs was killed and T.C. was shot before they finally won the day. But Magnum seems back to his usual shenanigans in the previews for Season 5B, so will the events of the spring finale inspire him to be any less reckless?
Will T.C. Walk Again?
While T.C. survived his gunshot wounds despite being touch-and-go in the spring finale, he wasn't going to just bounce back. The Island Hoppers owner learned that he might never walk again, and an early look at the Season 5 premiere suggested that he's still learning to deal with his new normal. It is worth noting that his doctor didn't say that he'd never walk again.
In fact, the doctor said that there's a "good chance" T.C. will regain mobility with the right treatment and physical therapy due to swelling around the spinal cord. So, how much will T.C. ultimately be able to recover from his injuries? Magnum P.I. Season 5 was finished before news of the cancellation, so it's possible that his recovery story won't be over, but I'm invested!
Will Rick Get A Happy Ending With Suzy?
Rick is in a tricky situation with Suzy as of the end of Season 5A. While she is the mother of his child and they have a solid friendship as co-parents, he has wanted a romantic relationship for some time, and he took a step forward in the spring finale when he thought he was going to die. He recorded an emotional cell phone video for Suzy and Joy saying that not confessing his feelings to Suzy was his only regret, but deleted it once he survived.
Magnum saw the video, though, so could he encourage Rick to confess his feelings to Suzy? Only the new episodes will tell, but at least the actors have a happy ending in real life! Zachary Knighton and Betsy Phillips have been married since 2018.
What New Character Is Causing Magnum Problems?
The spring finale ended without too many specific clues about what would be in store in Season 5B, but star Jay Hernandez dropped a tease in an interview with CinemaBlend that previewed a troublesome character on the way. While he avoided dropping major spoilers when we spoke, he did say this:
Some of these serialized aspects of the show are what I enjoy the most, and there's going to be – I'm trying to phrase it in the right way, so I don't spoil too much. There will be a character that comes into Magnum's life that is going to be causing him a lot of problems for a number of episodes, and even further into the show as a whole if we get picked up for the sixth season.
At the time, Magnum P.I. had not yet been cancelled, and Hernandez also spoke about potentially writing an episode if the show returned for Season 6. All we know about this new character based on his comments is that they'll be causing a lot of trouble, and I'm guessing that doesn't mean lighthearted shenanigans like the trouble caused by Jin. So, who is this person, and what kinds of problems are ahead?
Will Katsumoto Get A Partner?
Katsumoto spent a decent chunk of Season 5A out of the HPD after his actions at the end of Season 4, and he was replaced by Detective Childs. While Magnum and Co. did eventually warm up to Childs, he was tragically killed off in an explosion in the penultimate episode in the spring. This was after Katsumoto was reinstated to HPD, however, which raises the question: will Katsumoto get a new partner, and Magnum P.I. get another cop?
After Lia and Childs, we can't rule out another key character in the police department, although it's at least safe to say that any newcomer wouldn't be a love interest for Magnum, who is on the verge of dropping an "I love you" to Higgins.
Is Higgins Pregnant?
While this technically didn't happen in the first half of Season 5, the first look at the second half hinted at a possible pregnancy for Higgins, as she dropped those two fateful words: "I'm late." As most fans probably know, in TV land, those two words mean that a character may have a bun in the oven, so: is she actually pregnant? Personally, I'm guessing that it's a scare, but one that leads to an important conversation between Magnum and Higgins. Still, we can only speculate for now. It's not like Magnum P.I. hasn't gone in some surprising directions with these two before, and there was a Season 3 episode that included some baby foreshadowing.
Will Robin Masters Appear?
The elusive Robin Masters is an important character on Magnum P.I., but he has remained completely off-screen for all four and a half seasons that have aired so far. His money and generosity have come in handy, and his books have allowed for some fun reenactments for the cast – described by Jay Hernandez as "so ridiculous" – without him playing an active part in the series. In the original Magnum P.I. starring Tom Selleck, Robin Masters was heard but never seen. Could the CBS-turned-NBC reboot feature the man himself before the end?
Will It End In A Cliffhanger?
Unfortunately, Magnum P.I. was cancelled during the hiatus between the two halves of Season 5, so the team won't be able to pick up where the fifth season finale ends. That raises the question: will it end in a cliffhanger that will never be resolved, or was the Season 5 finale planned in a way that it could work as a series finale, just in case?
The Season 4 finale ended on some unanswered questions, but not what I would call a killer cliffhanger. If fans are lucky, there will be some degree of closure by the end of Season 5's finale episode. Or, if fans are really lucky, something better could happen, which brings us to...
Could Magnum P.I. Still Get A Season 6?
Considering that Magnum P.I. has already been cancelled and then rescued once before, it's hard not to hope that there's still a chance for a sixth season. Fans have been campaigning on social media for NBC to reverse its decision to cancel, and the first four seasons arriving on Freevee suggested that streamer as an alternative to hope for. At this point, however, Season 6 is not on the way, but that doesn't fans can't keep asking and hoping.
For now, you can plan on checking out the return of Magnum P.I. in the 2023 TV schedule on Wednesday, October 4 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. If you want to revisit the first half of Season 5 to for a refresher before the fall premiere, you can find every episode of the fifth season so far streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
