Television series

Magnum, P.I.

Name: Magnum, P.I.
Genre: Drama, Action, Mystery
Released: 1980
Cast: Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, Roger E. Mosley, Larry Manetti

Tom Selleck's mustache basically deserves its own Emmy. Magnum is a Vietnam vet turned private eye living rent-free (sort of) in a Hawaiian estate, forever squabbling with the starchy majordomo Higgins while chasing skips in a red Ferrari he can't afford to insure. It's sunny, funny, occasionally surprisingly sad underneath, and endlessly good company.

TVMaze rating

7.6

If you liked this

The Rockford Files1974

Same wisecracking, perpetually broke private eye energy but earlier and scrappier. Jim Rockford takes beatings nobody else on TV was willing to take, and the plots are just as twisty and fun as Magnum's.

But Grittier and less glamorous — no Ferrari, no mansion, just a trailer on a beach and a lot of bruises.

Hawaii Five-02010no page yet

Same island, same era, same appetite for sun-drenched crime-solving, just with badges instead of a PI license. Jack Lord's Steve McGarrett is stiffer than Magnum but the location work is gorgeous and the cases move.

But Straighter and squarer — the humor and buddy warmth that make Magnum sing are mostly absent here.

Simon & Simon1981no page yet

Mismatched brothers running a PI agency, trading barbs while solving cases — it's got the same breezy, hangout charm and easy chemistry that carries Magnum through its weaker plots.

But Lower budget, lower stakes — it never reaches for the emotional depth Magnum occasionally lands.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Big Sleep1946

Magnum's narrated, quip-first detective persona is a direct descendant of Marlowe's hardboiled voiceover style — same DNA, forty years and a lot of sunshine later.

Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlowe, the original wisecracking, trouble-attracting private eye — Magnum's whole voiceover, wisecrack-under-pressure lineage runs straight back through here.

But Black-and-white, plot deliberately near-incomprehensible, and paced for 1946 patience, not streaming-era momentum.

Remington Steele1982

A detective agency fronted by a fake male boss and run by the woman who actually built it — stylish, flirty, plot-of-the-week fun with real romantic tension underneath.

But More rom-com than action; if you're here for fistfights and car chases, this leans elsewhere.

Moonlighting1985

Banter as blood sport. Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd's detective duo turned crackling dialogue into the whole point of the show, the way Magnum's narration turns wit into a character trait.

But Talkier and more theatrical, with a will-they-won't-they engine that some find exhausting by season two.

Burn Notice2007

A wry, disavowed spy narrates his own con-artist capers in sunny Miami — the voiceover, the location glamour, and the found-family crew feel like Magnum's spiritual grandkid.

But Cases lean more gadget-and-scheme than mystery, and the tone is sardonic where Magnum is warmer.

The A-Team1983

Another band of Vietnam vets turned outlaw problem-solvers, just with more explosions and fewer subtitles. If you love the Magnum-T.C.-Rick brotherhood, this scratches the same itch louder.

But Cartoonishly violent without consequence — nobody ever seems to actually get hurt, which flattens the stakes.

MacGyver1985

Same '80s adventure-of-the-week spirit, swapping detective work for duct-tape ingenuity. Breezy, inventive, and never takes itself too seriously.

But The character work is thinner — it's more about the next clever escape than any real relationships.

Miami Vice1984no page yet

Same decade, same pastel-and-sunshine crime aesthetic, but swapped for a cooler, more stylish, more melancholy register — worth it just to see the era's other take on glamorous crimefighting.

But Moodier and slower, with none of Magnum's comic warmth or narration — it's atmosphere over banter.

Da 5 Bloods2020

Magnum, T.C. and Rick's bond as Vietnam vets is played for warmth and jokes; this film takes that same bond and asks what it actually cost them.

Four Black Vietnam vets return to the jungle decades later to recover buried gold and a fallen brother — Spike Lee takes the wartime-brotherhood engine underneath Magnum and lets it be genuinely devastating.

But Heavy, angry, and unflinching about war trauma and racism — there's no breezy mystery-of-the-week comfort here.

Cowboy Bebop1998

Swap the Ferrari for a spaceship: both are episodic freelance-investigator shows with a found-family crew and a habit of sneaking real sadness into a fundamentally fun show.

A ragtag crew of bounty hunters drifting between jobs in a jazzy, episodic, deeply cool anime that's funny and breezy right up until it suddenly isn't — the same tonal trick Magnum pulls off.

But Animated and Japanese with a slower emotional burn — it asks patience for melancholy episodes between the fun ones.