Fans of CBS’ reboot of the action procedural, MacGyver, received a behind-the-scenes gift from the series’ first showrunner. According to TVLine, Peter M. Lenkov (Magnum P.I., Hawaii 5-0), the showrunner for the first four seasons, unearthed his outline for what could have been the fifth season finale. A major tease would have taken the series in a very different direction.
Posting on his Instagram page, Lenkov highlighted how his original idea was to flash forward at least a decade into the future, introducing a new character to audiences. Fans would meet an 11-year-old boy named Jimmy, living in the solace woods of the Pacific Northwest. Soon it would be revealed the child’s parents were none other than MacGyver, played by Lucas Till (Wolves), and Tristin Mays’ (Thunderstruck) Riley.
“Was asked how I would have ended MacGyver. Here’s a few pages of the Season 5 finale I was working on prior to my exit,” Lenkov wrote on the post. “It’s just a rough scriptment, but a clear direction that would have given fans something new in Season 6 – a Mac/Riley romance. Sure, this story gave us a glimpse of the end game, but knowing that, watching their romance ignite in a new season woulda been some ride.” Lenkov penned the outline a month or so before his exit from the series in 2020. Lenkov left the helm of the show after facing allegations of creating an unhealthy work environment. Lenkov was replaced by Monica Macer (Gentefied) who guided the show until its cancellation last year.
TVLine reports MacGyver and Riley would have both left the Phoenix Foundation to raise their child when new dangers force them to seek the agency’s help. Upon their return, season six would have found Ben Wang’s (Search Party) Eli Brown as the new leader of the team. Desi, played by Levy Tan (The Haunting of Hill House), would have departed Phoenix to initiate her own agency.
Macer’s season six would have also explored a romance between MacGyver and Riley, but probably without the forward time jump. According to TVLine, season five would have continued the plot of secret nanobots being used to control select operatives into rogue agents. MacGyver would have fallen victim, forcing Riley and her team to infiltrate the enemy compound to set MacGyver and the other victims free. In the heat of the moment, the two would exchange a passionate kiss, igniting the beginning of a whirlwind romance.
CBS picked up MacGyver in 2016 with Till and George Eads (CSI) as leads. The series was based on the early 90s original which starred Richard Dean Anderson (Stargate SG-1) as the resourceful Phoenix Foundation agent.