‘I’m busy with blue bloods’: Tom Selleck turns down another series for the Reagan clan

When the Magnum remake debuted on CBS in 2018, all eyes were clearly on Tom Selleck: What did he think of the reboot? could he play To recall, the original detective series in which he starred ran from 1980 to 1988 on CBS, and he received an Emmy for Best Actor.

In this new version, which ended earlier this year after 5 seasons, Peter Lenkov (already behind the Hawaii Five-0 and MacGyver remakes) has hired Jay Hernandez (The Expanse, Suicide Squad) to play Thomas Magnum, who, like his predecessor, is a former Navy in Hawaii as a private investigator.

during this time, Tom SelleckHe’s been busy playing New York Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in Blue Bloods, another long-running series that, although ending this year, has greatly alarmed actors who have mobilized to save him.

Interviewed in 2018 by TV Guide Magazine and TV Insider, Tom Selleck Thus revealing the reasons why he said “no” to play in this new version. The actor said he was asked to come to CBS headquarters on the West Coast to meet with Lenkov and David Stepf, president of CBS TV Studios.

“CBS is my local network“, he explained. “I did it young and restless And the films about Jesse Stone and Magnum and Blue Bloods along with them. The representatives of the channel then told him that if he “I had a problem” With the remake, their relationship was so important that they wouldn’t do that. “Peter was very enthusiastic about the project; He grew up with Magnum and it was his dream“- added the actor.

Stapf suggested that he speak with Les Moonves, CEO and Chairman of the Board of CBS Corporation. According to Selleck, Moonves explained that since Universal owned the series, they could “Do what they want. Les said, “We want to control the show, we think we can do a better job.”“

Tom Selleck continued: “I went home and thought about it for about a day. Finally, I said, “We couldn’t have put a tighter knot around our show. We finished our last episode when the show was number one in all of television. We at the Smithsonian are dedicated to recognizing Vietnam veterans in a positive light, the first series to truly do so. And that led to a lot of other opportunities. I just felt that success in this field is very difficult, so why would I want to encourage someone to fail. I just stood back and said, “I’m not going to get in your way.”“

But he also decided that he would not be a part of the show in any way shape or form. “They asked me, and I said, “Absolutely not. I’m busy with blue blood.’ But more than that“, he admits.He will never be what I wanted him to be in my fantasy world. I told them I wouldn’t do a cameo to let the audience know I was affirming. I’m sure they’ll like it, but I have a commitment to my version. And Peter is going to come up with his own interpretation of what Magnum should be in a situation like this.“

no first “no”

This was not the first time Tom Selleck He refused the offer of the iconic role. In the early 90s, he worked with big fan and bestselling author Tom Clancy on a film. Magnum. “Tom and I worked on a story – a good story for a movie. The character isn’t finished: where we left off, he’s back in the Navy. I thought it was time because I had success in feature films. Three men and one child was the number one film in the world.“

However, Universal Studios head Sidney Sheinberg had other ideas, Selleck explains: “I didn’t care; They didn’t think enough and really blew it.“

over the years, Tom Selleck revealed that he had heard rumors about other film and TV series ideas. If he didn’t talk bad about it, he “was not particularly happy“, he admitted. But this 2018 proposal, “It seemed good, because it was probably going to happen sooner or later. Why do you choose to be offended? This is Peter’s dream, let him try. He is a good man.“

Maybe now this blue blood cancelled, Tom Selleck May return to a new project: his Magnum Did he mention the dream? We can always dream too.

You can watch Magnum (2018) on TV on 13ème Rue or on VOD.

As for Blue Bloods, its final eight episodes air this fall every Friday in the US. In France, you can find the series on Paramount+.