For those who were unable to make it to the Sunset on the Beach screening of the new “Magnum P.I.” on Sept. 16, here’s a minor spoiler — the show is set in present-day Honolulu.
From the pilot episode that screened for fans in Waikiki last weekend, it’s obvious “Magnum” exists in the same television universe as sister show “Hawaii Five-0.” Executive producers Peter Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim oversee both productions, and have seen to it that some details, like the clothes worn on screen, are identical on each show.
“We borrow a lot from ‘Five-0,’ ” said “Magnum” wardrobe supervisor Leslie Herman earlier this month during a visit to the Kalaeloa facility originally constructed for ABC’s “Inhumans,” which filmed eight episodes on Oahu in 2017.
“Wardrobe tells the story. It’s the first thing you see on the screen, what people are wearing,” Herman said. “It gives you a sense of character, a sense of tone. It tells you what the characters might be doing in a particular scene.
“And since we’re shooting in the same city on screen, whatever ‘Five-0’ does, we have to do. The police department, the sheriffs, the jail. It all has to be exactly the same.”
THE ORIGINAL “Magnum P.I.” ran from 1980 through 1988 on CBS and followed the adventures of Thomas Magnum, a former naval intelligence officer and Vietnam veteran who ended up working as a private investigator in Honolulu. It starred Tom Selleck as Magnum, who won Emmy and Golden Globe awards for his work on the show and launched a successful Hollywood career that continues today.
In the “Magnum” reboot, Jay Hernandez dons the iconic Detroit Tigers baseball cap as an ex-Navy SEAL who served in Afghanistan before ending up in Hawaii. His buddies, TC Calvin and Rick Wright (originally played by Roger Mosley and Larry Manetti), are reprised by Stephen Hill and Zachary Knighton, respectively, while the previously male Jonathan Higgins (John Hillerman) is now Juliet Higgins, played by Perdita Weeks.
Viewers will notice some pretty obvious visual references to the original series, said Herman, but there could also be a few more subtle nods to the Thomas Magnum of old.
“There are little references back to what we call the ‘O.G.,’ original guys. Magnum was still in the Navy and is still a Detroit fan,” she said, but declined to provide additional details.
“I have not seen the orchid print yet,” she responded when asked about the classic design Selleck famously wore in the original series. “There are some iconic aloha shirts. But the wardrobe has to be a little more current to today’s taste, so we can’t really throw in a lot of ’80s stuff.
“Now we’re in 2018, so we’re not going to be doing any retro things. … Mr. Lenkov guides us a lot on how he wants things to be. It’s always a collaborative effort.”
WITH A staff of nine in the wardrobe department, Herman currently has about 2,000 square feet of space in Kalaeloa to store whatever clothes don’t make it to set on a particular day of filming.
Earlier this month, that meant racks upon racks of various uniforms; background attire, or clothes worn by extras in scenes; and multiple sets of outfits meant to be worn by the stars and their stunt doubles. The only sign that something might have been worn by Hernandez or one of the other lead actors comes from attached tags that bear their names and/or a photo of the actor wearing the item.
“I’m not a designer, I’m more of a logistics person,” said Herman, 61, who was based in Miami for 20 years before a job on the 1998 film “There’s Something About Mary” got her a break working in Hollywood. “We’re totally digital now in our continuity with all the other departments. Since we shoot (scenes) out of sequence … we have to work off our cellphones and computers to keep track of things.”
And when she’s not on set supervising the process of dressing dozens of extras for a scene or rushing off to a meeting, Herman helps keep track of items needed on upcoming episodes.
“I’m tracking FedEx every day,” she said. “We can’t get things delivered to us here because this was an old Army barracks … so we had to take an address in town so we could get our online deliveries sent to a recognized address by the U.S. Postal Service software.”
Shopping malls, like Ala Moana Center and nearby Ka Makana Ali‘i in Kapolei, provide convenient options that also help keep scenes looking authentic, Herman said. Viewers will be able to spot designs by Tori Richard and ‘Iolani in early episodes, she added.
“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel with Hawaii. We can get colorful stuff, we can get summer stuff here all year round,” she said. “We shop here a lot, of course, because it’s easier and we’re shooting Hawaii for Hawaii. But there are some things we just have to get on the mainland.”
The new “Magnum, P. I.” premieres at 8 p.m. Monday on CBS.
