Are ‘Magnum P.I.’ And ‘Hawaii Five-0’ Set In The Same Universe?

CBS’ latest reboot, “Magnum P.I.,” debuts Monday night, and “Hawaii Five-0” fans will see a familiar face in the Season 1 premiere.

The new show, which centers on Hawaii private investigator Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez), was created by Eric Guggenheim and Peter Lenkov, the latter of whom also co-created the “Hawaii Five-0” reboot. The first episode will introduce viewers to the rebooted characters and the new cast, as well as establish the fictional universe it’s all set in, which happens to be the same one that encompasses the “Hawaii Five-0” reboot.

Not only do the detectives in episode 1 of 2018’s “Magnum P.I.” mention the Five-0 task force, but Magnum also goes to visit Dr. Noelani Cunha (Kimee Balmilero), the same medical examiner featured in “Hawaii Five-0.” This effectively sets up a universe that both shows now inhabit, leaving the door open for more crossovers in the future. Casual or newer viewers of “Hawaii Five-0” might be excited about this, but diehard fans might be a little confused.

The confusion comes because the Hawaii task force series got super meta during a Season 3 episode, titled “Hoa Pili,” when Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin), Danny Williams (Scott Caan), Max Bergman (Masi Oka) and Kamekona (Taylor Wily) referenced “Magnum, P.I,” the show, not a person in their fictional universe. In the 2013 broadcast, they’re flying in a helicopter when Max starts to sing the theme song to the 1980 show before they all start to discuss which of the fictional characters they’re most like.

This, at the time, was a nice nod the show gave to a Hawaii-set series that came before it, but now it just confuses things. The “Hawaii Five-0” characters discussed the original “Magnum, P.I.” as if it was a show that they themselves had watched, but now the rebooted version, which features characters with the same names, is set in the same fictional universe. Fans will have to simply tuck away the one-off reference and go with the slight setting changes that are being introduced to help stage the “Magnum P.I” reboot.

The references the new CBS show makes in its Season 1 premiere are nothing new, by the way. The original “Magnum, P.I.,” which ran from 1980 to 1988 on CBS and featured Tom Selleck as the lead character, did it first. The series often made referred to the 1968 version of “Hawaii Five-O.” The special task force series ended on the network a few months before the private eye show premiered, but “Magnum, P.I.” would mention the Five-O team, suggesting they were both part of the same fictional world, as well.

The 2018 reboot of “Magnum P.I.” premieres on CBS on Monday at 9 p.m. EDT.