The upcoming reboot of ’80s classic Magnum PI has been accused of whitewashing by the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA).
According to a report in Deadline, MANAA has expressed its disappointment with the revival’s casting, as well as Hollywood’s “overall lack of opportunities for Asian American actors”. The group has also called for the series’ executive producer to be replaced.
In a statement, MANAA president Rob Chan acknowledged that the upcoming series – which is one of few network shows with a lead of Mexican descent – is “diverse”, but insisted that it does not go far enough to include Asian/Pacific Islander actors given its setting in Hawaii.
“Oftentimes, Asians are left out of the diversity discussion, and for a show that takes place in a locale that is majority Asian, to have the main leads not to be Asian is offensive,” he explained.
“We generally want a show to reflect the demographics it’s in. The show takes place in Hawaii, which is majority Asian, but if you look at the four stars, there’s no Asians reflected there.”
A spokesperson for CBS responded to the claims by highlighting that two of Magnum PI‘s series regulars are of Asian descent (Tim Kang, who’s Korean-American, and Amy Hill, an American of Japanese descent).
“While we respect the work that MANAA does to foster Asian/Pacific Islander (API) inclusion in entertainment, their statement does not accurately reflect the current status of Magnum PI or CBS,” a statement read.
[Tom Selleck in the original Magnum, PI]
“Magnum has two API series regulars among an inclusive cast. Additionally, one-third of all the directors on Magnum are API.”
Fast and Furious director Justin Lin oversaw the pilot episode of Magnum PI.
CBS went on to argue that 69% of its series regulars across all its programmes in the 2018-19 season will be “people of colour, women, LGBTQ characters and performers with disabilities”.
“Additionally, people of color and women will represent 46% of our writers, and 43% of directed episodes,” it added.
This isn’t the first time MANAA has criticised CBS and Magnum PI’s executive producer Peter Lenkov – the organisation has also accused Lenkov’s reboot of Hawaii Five-O of being unrepresentative and even “offensive”.
The Magnum PI revival will premiere on September 24 at 9pm on CBS.
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