Magnum P.I.'s Jay Hernandez Breaks Silence Ahead Of Series Finale: 'I Didn't Love The Show Ending How It Did'

Now that it's time for Magnum P.I. to ride off into one of the gorgeous sunsets that the island drama knows all too well, series star Jay Hernandez is finally speaking out about the show ending after a five-season run — and he's not ready to say goodbye.

"I actually floated the idea of a standalone film," Hernandez posted on social media on Wednesday, just before the Magnum P.I. series finale began airing on NBC. "I suppose it's still possible," he notes, adding: "If I'm being totally honest I didn't love the show ending how it did."

But he made sure to offer his gratitude to Magnum fans as well: "Thank you for always supporting us! Y'all have been AMAZING. We're humbled by your dedication."

Prior to that, Hernandez hadn't commented on the show's cancellation, aside from a reposting on X. Leading lady Perdita Weeks shared a sweet Instagram about the show being readied to "ride off into the sunset," while other cast members' reactions can be found here.

Magnum showrunner Eric Guggenheim previously told TVLine that, despite it not being written as a series finale, Wednesday's two-part farewell "absolutely works" as one and didn't require any edits after the news came down: "I actually think it's quite satisfying. I'm really proud of the finale. There are a couple of threads left dangling that would have been picked up in a Season 6, but I didn't want to end on a cliffhanger... Is it how I would choose to end the show? No. But if it has to be the last episode, I think it absolutely works as a [series] finale. So no, there's no reason to go back and recut or reshoot."

As reported on June 23, NBC — which stepped up one year ago to save Magnum after its CBS run got cut short after four seasons — opted not to order additional episodes beyond the second, 10-episode half of Season 5, given that cast options expired June 30 during the Hollywood writers' strike.

Season 5A of Magnum, which aired on Sundays after Dateline reruns, averaged just shy of 5 million total weekly viewers and a 0.4 demo rating (with Live+7 playback) — down sharply from Season 4 on CBS (7.3 mil/0.7), which was very comfortably hammocked on Friday nights between S.W.A.T. and the well-watched Blue Bloods.

Out of the 11 dramas that NBC aired last season, Magnum ranked eighth in total audience (outdrawing only La Brea, Quantum Leap and the final season of The Blacklist), and tied The Blacklist for last in the demo.

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