Television’s new ‘Magnum’: Who is he?

Published 12:00 am Monday, August 6, 2018

Q: I’m seeing a lot of ads for the new “Magnum P.I.” Who plays the new Magnum?

— Chris King, via email

A: He’s Jay Hernandez, who has worked principally in feature films since being a cast member of the weekend NBC children’s show “Hang Time.” (He later married that show’s lead actress, Daniella Deutscher.)

Hernandez had a short run on ABC’s “Six Degrees,” then also did arcs on that network’s “Last Resort” and (when it still was on ABC) “Nashville.” Among the films he has made are “Crazy/Beautiful,” “Hostel,” “World Trade Center,” “Quarantine,” “Bad Moms” and “Suicide Squad.” The “Magnum” reboot is scheduled to premiere Sept. 24 on CBS.

Q: Will “Too Close to Home” return?

— Marilyn Davis, Lake Worth, Florida

A: No. The Tyler Perry-produced drama, which was TLC’s first scripted series, was canceled last year after two seasons. Its central star — Danielle Savre, who played a White House employee who left after having an affair with the president — has moved on to another show, playing one of the firefighters on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff “Station 19.” (And it’s worth nothing that in real life, her sister actually is a firefighter).

Q: I read about a show called “The Disappearance” that supposedly was to start in July on WGN America. Any information you can share?

— Margaret Copson, Naperville, Illinois

A: Only that it … um, disappeared. (Come on, now, you set us up for that one.) The Canadian-made, Peter Coyote-starring drama about the search for a vanished youngster aired in that country last fall, and after the announcement in May that it would come to America this summer, nothing happened with it. The channel’s website page for the show says it will premiere there in 2019, but it might be wise to take that with a grain of salt under the circumstances.

Q: Why did Tom Bergeron stop hosting “America’s Funniest Home Videos”?

— Carol Draper,

Providence, Rhode Island

A: At the time he left the ABC show, which was at the end of its 25th season, he said that he felt 25 was a good number to go out on. He was succeeded by current host Alfonso Ribeiro, but of course, Bergeron continues to preside over the same network’s “Dancing With the Stars” along with Erin Andrews. In the upcoming season, he’ll present both the original version and a “Juniors” edition that features young celebrities paired with dance pros of a similar age.

Q: Did Bruce Willis do another television series after “Moonlighting”?

— Jim O’Day, via email

A: We can’t predict the future, so there could be another one in years to come — but as of now, he hasn’t starred in another show since playing wisecracking detective David Addison on that ABC comedy-mystery. He’s made guest appearances on “Mad About You,” “Ally McBeal,” “That ‘70s Show” and (in a multiple-episode arc) “Friends” since “Die Hard” cemented his movie stardom 30 years ago, and it would seem that weekly TV is an avenue always open to Willis again if he wants it.

Q: I’ve been glad to see “Me, Myself and I” back on the air. Does that mean more episodes will be made?

— Jennifer Samuels, Grand Junction, Colorado

A: Just the opposite. After canceling the show, CBS played off the rest of the Bobby Moynihan-starring comedy’s existing episodes to amortize the cost of buying them, and to give itself some fresh summer product on Saturdays (as it also did with “Living Biblically” recently). The network has been doing that “burning off” process in the summer for several off-seasons, the Katherine Heigl drama “Doubt” having been another example of it last year.

Q: I saw “Hello, Dolly!” on television recently, and the credits said, “Directed by Gene Kelly.” Was that the same Gene Kelly who starred in many movie musicals himself?

— Cheryl Beach, Grandview Heights, Ohio

A: It was, and it was one of several films he directed. The others included the Doris Day vehicle “The Tunnel of Love,” “Gigot” (starring Jackie Gleason), “A Guide for the Married Man,” “The Cheyenne Social Club” and “That’s Entertainment, Part II” (the latter also featuring Kelly as an on-screen presenter along with another icon of his particular field, Fred Astaire).

— Send questions to tvpipeline@gracenote.com.

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