CBS is dropping the MacGyver reboot from its Friday night lineup after season five, according to The Hollywood Reporter. MacGyver‘s source material, the ’80s espionage drama of the same name, originally aired on ABC for seven seasons. In 1997 interview with TV Guide, the titular secret agent’s original portrayer Richard Dean Anderson (Stargate SG-1, Legend) claimed that 100-plus episodes of full-throttle action took toll on everyone involved in the show’s production. “The only reason it went off the air was that everybody was ready to move on. I was physically exhausted and had no life,” he explained, via TV Guide.
The reboot starred Lucas Till (Monster Trucks, Hannah Montana: The Movie) as the famously resourceful and quick-thinking eponymous government operative. Till shared the image of Deadline story breaking the news of the program’s cancellation in a post he made on his Instagram. Till’s caption conveys his deeply felt gratitude to the other members of the cast and crew: “Through all the people who said we wouldn’t make it past the first thirteen [episodes], through all the tough times, you guys always somehow brought so much joy into my life, helped me grow exponentially and you’ve shown me what it means to be a… team.” Check out Till’s full post below:
Till is not exaggerating when he speaks of “tough times.” In July 2020, MacGyver lost its original showrunner, Peter M. Lenkov (Hawaii Five-0, The District), according to The Hollywood Reporter. Lenkov was reportedly fired by CBS in response to multiple allegations of workplace discrimination and intolerably poor behavior, as reported by Variety. Lenkov’s duties were given to Monica Macer (Queen Sugar, Nashville) for what would prove to be MacGyver‘s ill-fated fifth season.
MacGyver is the latest established CBS show to get the axe. Two of the broadcaster’s cornerstone series, the police procedural NCIS: New Orleans and multi-camera sitcom Mom, are approaching finales of their own in May 2021. Since the first week of March, CBS has announced casting details for upcoming series The Three of Us and Ghosts, as well as plan to expand Dick Wolf’s (Chicago Fire) hit FBI franchise via the forthcoming spinoff FBI: International, as reported by Deadline. Renewal orders for Young Sheldon from Mom co-creator Chuck Lorre (The Kominsky Method) and the New York City-set crime drama The Equalizer have also been issued.
The MacGyver series finale airs on CBS on April 30 at 8 P.M. Eastern, via Entertainment Weekly.