‘Magnum P.I.’: Zachary Knighton & Perdita Weeks on Why It Was Time for Series to End

Magnum P.I. is ending for the second time shortly after the new year begins — a two-hour event is set for January 3 — but at least this time, we’ve had time to prepare. (NBC picked it up for 20 more episodes following CBS‘ cancellation.)

“Maybe we didn’t know the show was going to end, but we had an inkling, so everybody wrapped it up really nicely,” Zachary Knighton (Rick) told TV Insider. “I think the fans are going to be really excited about it.”

Perdita Weeks (Higgins) teased something “very, very surprising… not altogether good, but it’ll all be alright in the end.” She’s also said that the series ends in a “very sweet” way for Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and Higgins and hopes “people will be content with it because it is the end.”

For Weeks, the show ending and saying goodbye to Higgins (“She was my life for five years”) is “bittersweet. I’m really glad that it ended where it did, to be honest. Once Magnum and Higgins were together, I think there was a sort of shelf life. I don’t think we wanted to see them get divorced. Kitchen sink drama. It just wouldn’t have had quite the allure. And I told [showrunner] Eric [Guggenheim] this, whilst it is very sad to say goodbye to it, obviously, and everyone, I think it’s a nice place that we ended up.”

Knighton is sad about the end, and he acknowledged the drama’s “underdog” status. “We sort of came out in Hawaii Five-0’s shadow, and then covid happened and we got cut down to 15 or 16 episodes and then we got canceled and then saved by NBC. We’ve just been getting thrown around. … It’s time, and I’m excited for what’s next.”

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Magnum P.I. has been part of crossovers in the past, so it is possible that these characters could show up in the future on another show. Where would Weeks and Knighton like to see Higgins and Rick again? “I see Higgins in Paris somewhere,” she said.

“If Stephen Hill went off and pitched a show about TC and TC was the lead of the show and it was all about his adventures, I would bring Rick back to do something like that,” Knighton laughed. “But otherwise, I think, Ricky’s going to get buried with this one.”

Looking ahead, he’s interested in any roles that “speak” to him. “I’ve been all over the map. I’ve done all kinds of crazy movies and television shows and sci-fi, horror, comedy, drama, action, thriller,” he pointed out. “I tend to be like a location guy, too. If there’s something interesting and it’s happening in Hawaii, you better believe I took it, and that’s what I did with this.”

Watch the video above to see Weeks talk about her favorite Magnum-Higgins scene to film — that we’ve seen and still to come. And what’s not to come? An answer to the one burning question she wanted answered: “Where is Higgins tattoo? … That’ll have to be an Easter egg for years to come.”

Magnum P.I., 2-Hour Series Finale, Wednesday, January 3, 2024, 9/8c, NBC