Hawaii Five-0 Showrunner Jokingly Calls To Shelve Early Episode Ahead Of Magnum P.I. Crossover

Hawaii Five-0 CBS

Much like other CBS shows before it, Magnum P.I. and Hawaii Five-0 will soon have a two-part crossover. There are many excited to see Thomas Magnum rub shoulders with Steve McGarrett, though there are a few longtime fans with an issue with the meeting of the two parties. Showrunner Peter M. Lenkov is aware of the issue, and recently joked about shelving a past episode that makes this fateful meeting a bit bizarre.

For those out of the loop, Hawaii Five-0 had a scene in the Season 3 episode "Hoi Pili" in which it referenced the characters and theme song of Magnum P.I.. Unfortunately, McGarrett was making a direct reference to the classic 80s series that starred Tom Sellick, and not the cast of his modern reboot that currently airs on CBS. Lenkov talked about why the moment happened, as well as what Hawaii Five-0's plan will be in addressing the moment in the crossover.

We did do that. We’re going to forget that episode happened.

So for anyone hoping there would be some confirmation Magnum P.I. exists as both a show and real life situation in the Hawaii Five-0 world, that's not going to happen. It turns out the answer is to just pretend that never happened, though Peter M. Lenkov is only joking to TVLine about actually removing the episode from the rotation.

So, why did Lenkov add that little nod to Magnum P.I. if he knew the show may one day crossover with Hawaii Five-0? The simple answer is, he didn't, and only included the joke because he had given up hope that his idea for a Magnum P.I. reboot would ever get off the ground.

That was at a time when I had lost hope that I could get [my Magnum reboot] launched. I had been trying to do it for so long, I thought there was just no way it was going to happen, so I did a little tribute in that episode.

The moment may have made things slightly problematic for the upcoming two-part crossover between Magnum P.I. and Hawaii Five-0, though after so many episodes it's hard to imagine too many fans would immediately point out the discrepancy. The bottom line is, if the showrunner isn't worried about it, then it's safe to say the crossover will be plenty fun and the moment will live on as a funny plot hole that will simply have to stand so that an action-packed crossover may happen.

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The Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I. crossover event airs on CBS Friday, January 3. Stick with CinemaBlend for more updates on the upcoming crossover, and continue to follow us for more updates on the world of television and movies.

Mick Joest
Content Producer

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.