consistently ranked in the top 20 U.S. television programs in the Nielsen ratings during the first five years of its original run, finishing as high as number three for the 1982–83 season.

An ex-British Army regimental sergeant major, he is on the surface a stern, by-the-book caretaker of Robin's Nest, whose strict ways often conflict with Magnum's more easygoing methods.

Magnum has free use of the guesthouse and the car, a Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole, but as a humorous aside in various episodes, often has to bargain with Higgins for use of estate amenities such as the tennis courts, wine cellar, and expensive cameras.

This suspicion is neither proved nor disproved, although in at least one episode Higgins is shown alone in a room, picking up a ringing phone and talking to Masters, indicating they are different people.

Calvin (Roger E. Mosley), who runs a one-person local helicopter charter and tour van service, "Island Hoppers", and often finds himself persuaded by Magnum to fly him during various cases, and Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright (Larry Manetti), who refuses to use his Wright brothers-esque given name of Orville and owns a local bar.

Instead, Rick moved to running the plush, beachside King Kamehameha Club, which has exclusive membership and Higgins on the board of directors.

and Rick are both former Marines from VMO-2 with whom Magnum, a former member of the United States Navy SEALs and Naval Intelligence officer, served in the Vietnam War.

He keeps a mini-refrigerator with a seemingly endless supply of beer ("altbier"), wears his father's treasured Rolex GMT Master wristwatch, and is surrounded by countless beautiful women, who are often victims of crime, his clients, or otherwise connected to the cases he solves.

Following an outcry from fans who demanded a more satisfactory conclusion, an eighth season was produced to bring Magnum "back to life" and round off the series.

Robin's Nest (21°19′30″N 157°40′46″W / 21.324917°N 157.679526°W / 21.324917; -157.679526) is the fictional beach front estate on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, which serves as the residence of the main characters.

In the series, it is owned by renowned novelist Robin Masters, who employs Jonathan Higgins as the estate's caretaker and Thomas Magnum as its security expert.

Designed by American architect Louis Davis and called "Pahonu" ("turtle enclosure" in Hawaiian),[8] it was also known as "The Anderson Estate" after its longtime owner, politician Eve G.

[9] The grounds were used for hundreds of years to raise green sea turtles for the Hawaiian royal family and include a 500-by-50-foot stone wall that surrounds the former turtle-raising pond.

[8][10] A residential estate since the early 1930s, comprising an 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) main house, a boathouse (which in the series appears as the guesthouse Magnum occupies), a gatehouse, and private tennis court.

[14][15] Through the years, fans of the show have noted commonalities in the settings of time and space (the so-called fictional TV universe) between Magnum, P.I.

[20] Beginning in Episode 12, it was replaced by a more up tempo theme typical of 1980s action series by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter with guitar by Larry Carlton.

[37] In the 1986–87 season 7 of Magnum, P.I., Selleck was brought in as a producer and the program was moved from its Thursday night slot on CBS to Wednesday, which increased its slumping ratings from competing with The Cosby Show (1984–1992) on NBC.

[citation needed] One mooted crossover from later in the series' run was with the CBS vigilantism drama The Equalizer, starring Edward Woodward as the retired spy Robert McCall.

It is unknown whether any original cast members from Magnum were slated to appear in the episode or how far production had progressed, though test footage does exist of the attempted recreation of Tom Selleck's famous fourth-wall breaking "eyebrow" shot from the opening credits with Bakula in the role.

was nominated for multiple Golden Globe Awards:[43] On September 16, 2017, a group of 45 men dressed as Thomas Magnum were ejected from a Detroit Tigers game[44] for smoking and catcalling women in the park.

The story quickly became one of international interest as the group, from nearby Allen Park, Michigan gave dozens of interviews to newspapers, magazines, radio stations, podcasts and more.

In September 2016, ABC began developing a sequel from Leverage creator John Rogers and producer Eva Longoria centering on Lily "Tommy" Magnum,[46] which never made it to series.

[47] CBS officially ordered the pilot three months later, along with one for a reboot of another hit 1980s television series for the network, Cagney & Lacey, as well as one for 1990s favorite Murphy Brown.