Category: Television

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NO SEASON 5 FOR ‘MAGNUM P.I.’

CBS finally let the cat out of the bag and the message was somewhat of a surprise: No more than four.

Alas, “Magnum P.I.” – waiting for weeks for a green light – was shown the red/stop light yesterday (May 11) that a fifth season, which would have launched filming this summer, is off the books.

Thus, the May 6 episode – with co-stars Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum and Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins, exchaging smitten  “I like you” sentiments after kissing each other – was the season’s finale and the series’ ending.

Perdita Weeks and Jay Hernandez of “Magnum P.I.”

The cast has reason to be disappointed, perhaps the viewing fan base more so. The reboot of the original Tom Selleck-led procedural was far more popular, sustaining a 8-year run in the height of Hollywood discovering and setting up anchor to film episodic shows that depicted the sun, surf, and lifestyle – plus the rampant crime in paradise – that viewers all over the world watched. The foundation then was set by the Jack Lord-era of “Hawaii Five-0,” the first episodic crime-in-paradise CBS shot here, which lasted for 12 seasons.

The “Magnum” reboot originally was a Monday night show but shifted to a better night Friday before the shutdown. Ratings were pretty good – not great— dipping down to 7.4 million viewers and a 0.7 demographics rating in season 4, a skosh below numbers during Season 3. In recent years, ratings and demos no longer seemed as important or relevant during earlier decades, when the demos, based on advertising rates – the higher the demo ranking, the more it would cost for primetime ads — mattered more.

CBS still has one other island show, “NCIS: Hawai‘i,” which completed its first year of production, and the show, led by Vanessa Lachey as lead agent Jane Tennant, recently earned its season 2 go-ahead, with filming set for this summer for the fall season. Thus, the NCIS brand apparently still has life and luster.

Robbie Magasiva

Other shows aiming cameras here include Disney* “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.” starring Perton Elizabeth Lee. and Jason Scott Lee, with season 2 filming set this summer;  and  HBO Max’s “Kenui Road,” a lifeguard lifestyle drama written and directed by John Wells and set on the North Shore with principals Robbie Magasiva, Andrew Creer and Tessa de Josselin, which has  a pilot in the can with air date not yet set. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

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‘DOOGIE’ TO GET NEW REGULARS

“Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.,” the Hawaii-lensed medical series, is expected to begin filming its second season May 16, with production on 10 episodes continuing through Aug. 23.

The series, focusing on Lahela “Doogie” Kamealoha, a 16-year-old prodigy portrayed by Peyton Elizabeth Lee, happens to have dual careers, as a medical doctor and teen-ager, whose roles conflict and provide both tension and comedy.

The sophomore season is reportedly introducing yet-unnamed recurring characters, including Blake, Ellis and Billy, to join the cast:

  • Blake is an Australian female, 20, who is athletic, gorgeous, a surfer on a pro tour and the expected roommate of Doogie’s love interest, Walter.
  • Ellis (first name, Marjorie), a female who may be of any ethnicity between 40 and 60,  who is shrewd, critical and an expected antagonist, in the role of a member of the hospital’s board of directors.
  • Billy, a child between 9 and 12, has the innocence and sweetness of youth, to be featured in a storyline involving a dog named Pickles, who is injured and whose owners can’t afford a veterinarian for treatment, so Doogie gets involved.
The “Doogie” ohana: center, Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Doogie, with (left), Jason Scott Lee and Kathleen Rose Perkins as her dad and mom, and (right), West Tian and Matthew Sato as her brothers. Photo courtesy Disney.

The ongoing cast includes Jason Scott Lee, as Doogie’s father Benny, who operates a floral and shave ice truck; Kathleen Rose Perkins, as Dr. Clara Hannon, her mom and hospital supervisor; Matthew Sato as Kai, her older brother; Wes Tian, as her younger brother Brian Patrick;  Emma Meisel, as her best friend Steph Denisco; Alex Aiono as Walter Taumata, her teen crush; Ronny Chieng, as the hospital’s Dr. Lee;  Mapuana Makia  as Noelani, a hospital aide; and Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, as Dr.Charles Zeller, an ally of Doogie.

Kourtney Kang is executive producer and creator of the series, based on CBS’ earlier hit, “Doogie Hoosier, M.D.,” which starred Neal Patrick Harris as the youth-teen doctor.

The names of the incoming actors have not been released. Meantime,

Season 1 of “Doogie Kamealoha” is streaming on Disney+.

The waiting game for ‘Magnum’

So Perdita Weeks, who is Julia Higgins, and Jay Hernandez, who is Thomas Magnum, have feelings for each other. On last night’s (May 6) final episode of CBS’ “Magnum P.I.,” he and she awkwardly but unexpectedly declared their love for each other, suggesting that their future together brings new bonds to the plate.

Love is in the air for Perdita Weeks (Higgins) and Jay Hernandez (Magnum). Photo, courtesy CBS.

So the die is cast.

But the cliffhanger is this: the network has not yet extended a Season 5 order, so the island-based story can continue. If the fall season does not happen, this would be one of the most abrupt and anxious way to say aloha, which in this case, is not hello, but goodbye.

Why? When? Go figure; a “go” is expected, but the tardiness is unsettling. Series star Hernandez has publicly stated he is unworried about the status, that an extension is forthcoming.

The show, now in its Friday night slot preceding the evening’s ratings champ, “Blue Bloods” (yeah, with the original Magnum, Tom Selleck), has been a steady ratings draw, holding its own but never bypassing “Blue,” which already has its 13  Season granted.

Can’t be that CBS has halted season orders for other shows; it just bestowed a Season 3 and 4 for Queen Latifa’s “The Equalizer,” a Sunday night hit. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

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ELGORT’S NIHONGO IS CONVINCING

Have you been caught in the spell of “Tokyo Vice,” the enticing and intriguing HBO Max series that explores the dark corridors and Yakuza-clouded world of Japan journalism?

Ansel Elgort, who was Tony in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” stars as a newbie gaijin (foreign) crime reporter named Jake Adelstein, who is trying to earn his stripes in the daunting world of Japan’s gloomy and structural media world, based on Jake Adelstein’s novel about a fish-out-of sea element. While Elgort appears to speak and write fluent Japanese, he cannot appease his bosses because he asks too many questions, doesn’t abide to demeaning orders since he smells opportunity in the shadowy world of Hiroto Katagiri, the veteran police chief played by legendary Japanese actor Ken Watanabe, who has the power and voice to emphatically ban a cub reporter’s story, reasons not needed.

Ansel Elgort

Elgort is one of the executive producers of this hypnotic drama, which explores the underbelly of Tokyo’s 1990s club-and-crime scene, where an apparent murder cannot be reported as such, unless the cops say it is. The reporter is an eager soul with a thirst for that prime story that will put him on the map, but in the three (of eight) episodes I’ve watched, he’s still got a lot of tough challenges to confront. His fashionably long tresses, tall and lanky frame might project a model, but clearly, he’s a loose cannon uncertain what to make of Rinko Kikuchi’s Emi, his contemporary boss who oversees his assignments but always trashes his work. So he’s still working on his fame to turn around his shame.

Ansel Elgort, center, the Japanese-speaking gaijin in “Tokyo Vice.”

Director Michael Mann, who helmed the pilot episode, projects a film noirish universe, with its obvious hooks: crooked Yakuza agents pressuring clients to pay protection fees; hostess bars where Samantha, a transplanted haole played by Rachel Keller, is trying to work out her status since she speaks and adapts to Japanese ways. Samantha and Adelstein become friends as he conducts his own investigations to discover there is a link between the demise of two Japanese nationals whose deaths might be related, even in the manner of death. One, with multiple stabbing wounds; the other, a gasoline-stained guy who lights a match in an spectacle of a fiery finale; different but decidedly with similar hooks.

Action aside, a pleasant surprise was to discover an Island name in the credit rolls – that of Haiku, Maui native Destin Daniel Cretton, who is one of the producers for at least six episodes of “Tokyo Vice.” Suddenly, it became “Tokyo Nice,” with a local spin in the story and action.

Destin Daniel Cretton

Cretten, of course, is known primarily for shaping and directing “Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings,” the mammoth Marvel box office hit, which made Simu Liu a major action film star.

This, along with other yet-to-be-completed projects, including a sequel to “Shang-Chi,” will keep his name on the front burner for the next few years.

All the episodes of “Tokyo Vice” are streaming now and the spoken Japanese is sub-titled for gaijin viewers.

It’s gritty, atmospheric, and preciously dark, and part of the fun is to recognize quick shots of Japan’s bevy of tucked-away sushi bars and ramen shops, amid the crowded streets and alleyways of marketplaces and the network of subway trains.

And oh, about Elgort’s nihongo – no, he’s not fluent in the Japanese lingo but had to memorize lines, but managed to be a convincing conversationalist because of his diction and delivery. Apparently, he became a master of his lines and even could ad-lib, properly, the manner and the message in Japanese. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

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LIKE PRIMETIME BACK-T0-BACK TV?

Just asking…

Are you regular fans of network TV programming of back-to-back episodes on specific week nights?

Referring to procedurals that tackle crime and punishment, aid and rescue of the injured or ill, embracing car accidents, highrise fires or rampant drug-related crimes?

If so, which of these back-to-back shows do you like best?

Monday on CBS, two procedurals reign: the flagship “NCIS,” the Mark Harmon original, which this season precedes “NCIS: Hawai‘i,” the island-based spin-off.  We watch, though miss Harmon (he’s retired, but his name and image appear in the opening titles), even though it’s no longer the hot show it was for much of its 19 seasons.  The Monday scheduling is a wise lead-in to the Hawaii-shot spiff-off,.

Tuesday on CBS, a trio of investigative shows are intensive, savvy projects:  “FBI,” “FBI Most Wanted,” and “FBI International.” Great casts, with some crossover moments; fresh, incisive scripts.

Wednesday on NBC, it’s must-see TV, the best of triple-threats set in the crime-heavy Chicago, and unbeatable in relevance and timeliness: “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.” are often gritty but grand, and the hospital setting unsettling but intriguing,  the firefighting front and the police station daunting but challenging. The mix is the stuff of episodic drams: ER tension, smokey highrise, dangling vehicles over the river, and unexpected flying bullets or bombs bursting. Everyday drama never has been so visible and jammed with fictional stories that demonstrate and spotlight such emotional wallop. And, yes, giving first responders a positive image.

Thursday on NBC, law and order prevail: the original “Law and Order” favorite, Sam Waterson, is back and holding court in a reboot, and time will tell if it has staying power. “Law and Order SVU” still features Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson and remains a powerhouse hour that’s a whole lot better than the third entry, “Law and Order: Crime” which has Christoper Meloni’s Elliot Stabler  attempting to get a handle to outlast and outpower his weekly antagonist.

Friday on CBS used to be the slot for the now-shuttered “Hawaii Five-0,” where “Magnum P.I,” the Jay Hernandez reboot shooting here, preceding the network’s popular “Blue Bloods,” which still stars Tom Selleck, the original Thomas Magnum.”

Incredibly, Dick Wolf is the creator and executive producer of all the “Law and Order” series, all the “Chicago” brands, and all the “FBI” titles, a credit few others can claim. Indeed, he’s the king of the best of the TV franchise shows.

And most of his trademark programss are in syndication, so reruns provide a world of entertaining dramas, on such venues as USA, iOn, We and a few other spots on your TV dial.

With so many heavyweights from the traditional networks, it’s tough to surf the streaming services of Netflix or Disney+ or Amazon Prime. The aforementioned series left the airwaves during the coverage of NBC’s “Winter OIympics,” but happily, regular programming has returned … though most series are approaching their finales for the season.

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NO BUZZ, VIEWERSHIP FOR GLOBES

The Golden Globes – remember them? –  were bestowed Sunday, without fanfare, without the usual televised version of the ceremonies, without the customary buzz.

Hollywood – remember them, too? – snubbed the rituals this year because of the lack of diversity in 2021 not just among contenders but because of scarcity of people of color  (like, no blacks, and wonder if there were Asians) among the voters.

So if the sponsoring Hollywood Foreign Press Association repaired or reviewed its playbook, no one knows. If the Globes are precursors of the upcoming Academy Awards ceremonies, we shall all have to wait and see.

The Golden Globe

The two “big” winners each earned three awards: “The Power of the Dog” and “West Side Story.” The former is a difficult drama to endure (dark and dreary, but directed by an industry fave, Jane Campion) and the latter was a major remake of a landmark film (visceral and vibrant, directed by the respected Steven Spielberg)  that was a the box office flop .

So who won what? A recap, if you’re wondering:

Best motion picture, drama

“The Power of the Dog”

Best actress in a motion picture, drama

Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”

Best actor in a motion picture, drama

Will Smith, “King Richard”

Best motion picture, comedy or musical

“West Side Story”

Best actress in a motion picture, comedy or musical

Rachel Zegler, “West Side Story”

Best actor in a motion picture, comedy or musical

Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick… Boom!”

Best director, motion picture

Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”

Best supporting actress in a motion picture

Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”

Best supporting actor in a motion picture

Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”

Best TV series, drama

“Succession” (HBO)

Best actress in a TV series, drama

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, “Pose”

Best actor in a TV series, drama

Jeremy Strong, “Succession”

Best TV series, comedy or musical

“Hacks” (HBO Max)

Best actress in a TV series, comedy or musical

Jean Smart, “Hacks”

Best actor in a TV series, comedy or musical

Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”

Best limited series or TV movie

“The Underground Railroad” (Amazon)

Best actress in a limited series or TV movie

Kate Winslet, “Mare of Easttown”

Best actor in a limited series or TV movie

Michael Keaton, “Dopesick”

Best supporting actress in a TV series

Sarah Snook, “Succession”

Best supporting actor in a TV series

O Yeong-su, “Squid Game”

Best original score, motion picture

Hans Zimmer, “Dune”

Best screenplay, motion picture

Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”

Best animated feature film

“Encanto”

Best foreign language film

“Drive My Car” (Japan)

Best original song, motion picture

“No Time to Die,” from “No Time to Die”

And that’s Show Biz. …