Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

New Magnum P.I. & Lacey Likely To Be Diverse As Networks Eye Most Inclusive Pilot Leads Ever (tr)
Deadline ^ | February 2, 2018 | Nellie Andreeva

Posted on 02/02/2018 1:49:01 PM PST by EdnaMode

CBS is adding a twist to the classic TV character of Thomas Magnum in his return to television. I hear CBS’ intention is to pursue a non-white actor for the title character in its Magnum P.I reboot, a role originally played by Tom Selleck.

Additionally, I hear Lacey in CBS’ reboot of Cagney & Lacey, also is likely to be non-white. The character was written in the pilot script as a woman of color, sources say. In the Emmy-winning original, the title roles were played by Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless.

The trio of witches at the center of the original Charmed series (Shannen Doherty/Rose McGowan, Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs) also is expected to look a lot more diverse in the reboot underway at the CW, which also has a Mexican American girl at the center on its Roswell reboot.

This is part of an across-the-board effort by the broadcast networks this year to have casts that represent the diverse makeup of America. What’s more, while non-white actors had often been relegated to supporting roles in the past, judging by early buzz, some predict that we may have one of the most, if not the most diverse group of broadcast pilot leads ever.

A number of pilots went into casting with non-white leads already attached or written into them.

ABC’s The Greatest American Hero is re-imagining Steven J. Cannell’s 1981 cult classic, in which the unlikely (super)hero at the center Ralph Hinkley was played by William Katt. In the reboot, it is Meera, an Indian American woman.

ABC also has a Get Christie Love reboot starring Kylie Bunbury and Untitled Holmes Sisters drama, which explores the lives of five African American sisters. NBC has a Gabrielle Union-led Bad Boys offshoot, with the female co-lead opposite her also likely to be non-white. Fox has comedy pilot Rel toplined by Lil Rel and the Lee Daniels-produced Out People, about an African American man whose fiancée is from the Midwest. CBS has multi-cultural comedy pilot History of Them starring Ana Villafañe and comedy pilot Pandas In New York, about a family of Indian doctors.

In addition to going in a different direction on Thomas Magnum, CBS also is changing the makeup of his all-male team in the original series. In the new version, one of the members will be a woman, whose casting I hear is open to any ethnicity.

The networks have taken a diverse route in rebooting famous titles before. Fox employed the strategy with its 24 revamp, 24: Legacy, which had Corey Hawkins play a new character taking the mantle from Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer. And CBS a couple of years ago reconceived Nancy Drew with a pilot, in which the character was played by Sarah Shahi.


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: cagneyandlacey; cbs; magnumpi; reboots
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 121-124 next last
To: Slyfox

You underestimate their ability to completely ruin something good.


21 posted on 02/02/2018 1:58:22 PM PST by Zarro (Dead Cruz, the Slimy Ooze. Hat tip: DoughtyOne and Pray All Day)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Higgins = Woman or Transvestite


22 posted on 02/02/2018 1:58:40 PM PST by butlerweave
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: EdnaMode

Place your bets...do they last beyond one season?

I predict they will be quickly canceled.

Meanwhile, I’ll be watching the real Magnum on DVD. Why watch a pale imitation when you can view the original?


23 posted on 02/02/2018 1:59:22 PM PST by LostInBayport (When there are more people riding in the cart than there are pulling it, the cart stops moving...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EdnaMode
"The Greatest American Hero is re-imagining Steven J. Cannell’s 1981 cult classic, in which the unlikely (super)hero at the center Ralph Hinkley was played by William Katt."

He was only Ralph Hinkley for a few episodes after the show debuted. Right after the assassination attempt on Reagan by John Hinckley, the character's name was changed to Ralph Hanley. In any event, Robert Culp made the show. It would have bombed without him then, and it will do so with the remake.

24 posted on 02/02/2018 1:59:33 PM PST by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: treetopsandroofs

The “Lads” will recast as a pair of cats.


25 posted on 02/02/2018 1:59:33 PM PST by Rebelbase ( Hillary, DNC, DOJ and FBI colluded with a British National to influence the 2016 Pres. election)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: EdnaMode

Of course, “inclusiveness” doesn’t include straight white males — or conservatives of any gender, race, or orientation.


26 posted on 02/02/2018 1:59:47 PM PST by TBP (Progressives lack compassion and tolerance. Their self-aggrandizement is all that matters.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EdnaMode

“The Greatest American Hero is re-imagining ... In the reboot, it is Meera, an Indian American woman.”

Some of these Indian women on TV today are ridiculously hot ... if she’s hot and in a form fitting spandex outfit, that’ll work for me ;-)!


27 posted on 02/02/2018 2:00:10 PM PST by edh
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EdnaMode

But the perps will never be minorities. No diversity there.

Rule for all cop shows: A minority can be a suspect, but in the end it will turn out that they were being profiled and stereotyped and they were not only innocent, but also a genius and a hero.


28 posted on 02/02/2018 2:00:47 PM PST by generally ( Don't be stupid. We have politicians for that.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LostInBayport

do they last beyond one season?

Nope


29 posted on 02/02/2018 2:00:47 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: EdnaMode

When the author of the Broadway musical “Hamilton” said he wanted a cast that looked like America, he had to go on to explain he meant, “no whites”.

They aren’t even pretending anymore.


30 posted on 02/02/2018 2:02:27 PM PST by Jim Noble (Single payer is coming. Which kind do you like?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: donna

I noticed this on some of the shows I’ve watched recently.


31 posted on 02/02/2018 2:03:36 PM PST by EdnaMode
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: EdnaMode

Hollywood is as inept as it is morally corrupt!

The lack of imagination is astounding as it is imagination that is the fuel for the entertainment industry.

Magnum PI was successful because of the cast, the writing and the era it was shown.
A quirky, unconventional private detective surrounded by his equally unconventional friends worked after following multiple P.I shows of conventional characters who always got the big badie in the end.

Changing the skin color of the lead won’t recreate the atmosphere of the late seventies and early eighties.

It will fail.


32 posted on 02/02/2018 2:03:37 PM PST by RedMonqey (Alles klar, Herr Kommissar?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HarleyD

What-ever gave you the idea that Robin Masters is white?


33 posted on 02/02/2018 2:04:19 PM PST by Segovia
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: HarleyD

“I wonder how African Americans will feel about a black Magnum working as a servant on a large estate for a white Robin Master?”

Bwaaa-haaa-Haaa! :)


34 posted on 02/02/2018 2:06:18 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeWarrior

Or a smart car.


35 posted on 02/02/2018 2:06:30 PM PST by EdnaMode
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: EdnaMode

If you’re still watching TV, what’s wrong with you?


36 posted on 02/02/2018 2:06:30 PM PST by D_Idaho ("For we wrestle not against flesh and blood...")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EdnaMode

These retreads are going to be boring as can get. No SJW show can use innuendoes or risky script lines and get away with it. No interest in these shows whatsoever.


37 posted on 02/02/2018 2:06:33 PM PST by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: freedumb2003
If it was being rebooted today, Hawaii 5-0 would make McGarrett a lesbian and Danno a trannie.

5-0 HAS been rebooted but the lead isn't a lezbo nor Danno a trannie.

Other than that I cannot say anything further as I could gain any interest in it.

38 posted on 02/02/2018 2:06:45 PM PST by RedMonqey (Alles klar, Herr Kommissar?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: RedMonqey

Race hatred controls the entertainment industry.

Soon, CW II


39 posted on 02/02/2018 2:06:46 PM PST by Nothingburger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: EdnaMode
MAGNUM RELOADED, AND TOTALLY GAY:

TC --> "T.S."

Magnum --> 'Stache, but elsewhere clean shaven

"He was delicious, Mangum..! A PERFECT addition to a threesome..! Striding out of the surf in an overstretched banana-hammock..! Sinewy, rippling, an undeniable adonis..!"

T.S. minces up, flapping his arms around, rolling his eyes:

"You guys gonna STIFF me this time or no..? You steppin' out on me..?!"

(and TONS of other gay stuff)

JUST YOU WAIT..!

40 posted on 02/02/2018 2:06:59 PM PST by gaijin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 121-124 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson