MacGyver Reboot Update #186

The fans can’t do much more than wait for news regarding release dates and promo for projects featuring their favorite cast.

Bob Zellner, Barry Alexander Brown and Lucas Till in Seattle (via Son of the South)

(For more material and to discuss your favourite topics, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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Son of the South Screening
On February 4, Lucas Till attended an honorary screening of the movie Son of the South in Seattle. Additionally to a few photos of Lucas, the official social media accounts also uploaded a few clips of the Q&A after the screening.

There had been some more screenings (e.g. in California area) the next week, but Lucas wasn’t part of those.

Justin Hires doing Standup (via The Standup Comedy Club)

What are Cast and Crew up to?
There haven’t been many news regarding The Collective with Lucas Till. According to the Film Music Reporter, David Bateman will score the movie. Also, director Tom DeNucci is pretty busy with editing, directing, acting and taping auditions. He mostly posts daily clips from his new movie set at the moment.

There have been rumours on social media about Miley Cyrus presenting an 11-minutes-long Hannah Montana episode that would reunite most of the original cast of the movie. The episode would be attached to the new album release special on Disney+ that’s released next Friday. So far, nothing has been confirmed.

New/Old BtS photo of Lucas Till and Bob Zellner in Son of the South (via SotS Film)

ICYMI: Last year, Lucas registered branch offices for his production company Harry Vanderbilt Inc. in Georgia and Massachusetts. The products and services listed are “Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation” as well as “Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers”.

Today, Henry Ian Cusick will take part in a livestream for The Wingfeather Saga; also presenting additional BtS footage. So far, five episodes with his voice for the character Peet The Sockman have been released.

Tristin Mays posted a preview of her “self-made” projects with Marlon Webb; promising they will be coming out this year. There were teasers for the pirate musical (filmed in September 2021) or the “doll short movie” (filmed in February 2022); plus a glimpse of the project with two child actors as a young Tristin and a young Marlon (filmed in October 2022). I’m not sure why she’s been holding back these projects for so long.

Tristin Mays in a BtS photo back in October 2022 (via Jordyn Triplett)

A few months ago, Justin Hires mentioned that he’s developing and producing some shows that have A-list-actors attached to it. So far, there hasn’t been any news about these projects or the movie Homecoming (that Justin is writing the script for).

ICYMI: In an episode of The Smoking Tire Podcast, Ex-Showrunner Peter Lenkov finally admitted that he wasn’t as passionate about MacGyver as he had been about Magnum PI and Hawaii Five-0. He also tweeted to a fan that they should untag him in their #SaveMacGyver tweets because he doesn’t want to be associated with the show anymore (which doesn’t keep him from mentioning Lucas even when unprompted).

Tristin Mays on set of The Comic Shop (via Matt Rumer)

Upcoming Movie Projects for the MacGyver Cast
Several cast members of the MacGyver Reboot have movies in post-production:

• Jamojaya with Henry Ian Cusick: Premiered at Sundance Film Festival on January 23.
• Half Baked 2 with Justin Hires: Justin mentioned a release date of April 20 in a podcast episode. News outlets reported a non-theatrical release, but provided no date.
• Expend4bles with Levy Tran: The release date is set for September 22.
• Bang with Tristin Mays: Executive Producer Peter Lenkov stated that it’s “coming soon”, while actor Paul Mann stated “June”. You can watch the trailer here. There’s also a poster on Instagram.
• The Collective with Lucas Till
• The Comic Shop with Tristin Mays
• For Cory with Levy Tran

Other MacGyver-related News
Last year, MacGyver Showrunner Monica Macer attended a panel about diversity in Hollywood at LA Comic Con. She talked about adding to the already very diverse cast and crew and about the show winning an award for female leadership behind the camera. Monica also revealed that MacGyver is her favorite show she worked on.

ICYMI: Original MacGyver Richard Dean Anderson is scheduled to attend several conventions this year:

• Steel City Con (March 31 to April 2) in Pittsburgh
• Comic Con Prague (April 14 to 16)
• SciFi Convention FedCon in Germany (May 26 to 28)

Other MacGyver-related news you might have missed:

• Rebooted Murdoc actor David Dastmalchian will attend Amazing Comic Con in Las Vegas (April 29 and 30) to present his current comic issue of Count Crowley.
• Henry Ian Cusick is scheduled to attend the German Comic Con Spring Edition (May 6 and 7) in Dortmund.

MacGyver Reboot Update #185

The MacGyver cast has several movies in post-production. Meanwhile, the fans can’t do much more than wait for news regarding release dates and promo.

Barry Alexander Brown and Lucas Till in Seattle (via Verane Pick Brown)

(For daily news and to discuss your favourite topics, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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Son of the South Screening
On February 4, Lucas Till made an appearance at an honorary screening of the movie Son of the South in Seattle. The day before the event, we got a few photos of Lucas sporting a new hairstyle. He met up with the organisators of Shirts Across America, director Barry Alexander Brown and Bob Zellner.

Barry’s wife Verane posted several photos of Lucas before and after the screening. A few more snippets of the Q&A should be released soon. There are more screenings scheduled (e.g. in California), but Lucas won’t be part of those.

Lucas Till and Barry Alexander Brown attending a screening of Son of the South (via Verane Pick Brown)

Lucas Till branching out
ICYMI: Rebooted Murdoc actor David Dastmalchian has launched his own production company called Good Fiend Films. And it looks like Lucas Till has done preparations to go back into producing, as well.

Lucas has been listed with Californian production companies Harry Vanderbilt Inc. since 2010 (as owner) and Grindfist Pictures since 2011 (as Chief Executive Officer). According to IMDb, Grindfist Pictures is attached to three movies: All Superheroes Must Die (2011), Wet and Reckless (2013) and Vacation 8 (never went into production). The company was suspended in 2017. (Fun Fact: The Collective Stunt Coordinator Nick Principe also worked with Lucas on All Superheroes Must Die back in 2011.)

Production Companies associated with Lucas Till (via Open Corporates)

I recently noticed that Lucas has registered branch offices for Harry Vanderbilt Inc. in Georgia (in September 2022) and Massachusetts (November 2022). The products and services listed are “Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation” as well as “Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers”. (Fun Fact: Harry Vanderbilt is the name of Lucas’ character in The adventures of Ociee Nash; his first movie role).

I don’t know much about production companies and I assume it’s a long process, but I hope we get to hear some news soon. In the Urban Legendz podcast episode, Lucas had talked to Justin Hires about wanting to go back to producing; helping someone else’s vision coming to life. Back in 2021, he had stated that he’s already doing some of that now, but that he was still in the development phase.

Barry Alexander Brown, Lucas Till and Bob Zellner in Seattle (via Son of the South)

MacGyver The Musical
The MacGyver Musical Concept Album was released on January 27. We got several short interviews for promo beforehand; for example by Lee David Zlotoff (e.g. for TV Brittany, for the Was it Chance? podcast or for Like It’s Live) or by Tristin Mays (for the Official MacGyver Website).

The producers and some of the singing cast celebrated the occasion at an album release party. There have been hints about Lee planning to launch more stage productions in other cities for a limited run. There has been no concrete news – but back in November, Lee had met up with someone to discuss the possibility of a launch in Cleveland.

What are Cast and Crew up to?
There haven’t been any news for The Collective. Apparently, director Tom DeNucci is already gearing up for another production. In between editing, he has also been doing some acting roles and auditions.

Henry Ian Cusick at the IndieWire Sundance Studio (Tiffany Burke/IndieWire via Getty Images)

Upcoming Movie Projects for the MacGyver Cast
Several cast members of the MacGyver Reboot have movies in post-production:

• Jamojaya with Henry Ian Cusick: Premiered at Sundance Film Festival on January 23.
• Half Baked 2 with Justin Hires: Justin mentioned a release date of April 20 in his latest podcast episode.
• Expend4bles with Levy Tran: The release date is set for September 22.
• Bang with Tristin Mays: Executive Producer Peter Lenkov stated that it’s “coming soon” (whatever that means).
• The Collective with Lucas Till
• The Comic Shop with Tristin Mays
• For Cory with Levy Tran

ICYMI: In a new episode of In My Feelings, Justin Hires mentioned that he’s developing and producing some shows that have A-list-actors attached to it. Justin is also working on the script for movie Homecoming.

Levy Tran is still doing knee rehabilitation excercises; stating on Instagram Stories that she misses Jiu Jitsu. There’s no news regarding Meredith Eaton or George Eads.

Tristin Mays and Jesse Metcalfe on set of The Comic Shop (via Jonathan Bowen)

Other MacGyver-related News
Original MacGyver Richard Dean Anderson is scheduled to attend several conventions this year:

• Steel City Con (March 31 to April 2) in Pittsburgh
• Comic Con Prague (April 14 to 16)
• SciFi Convention FedCon in Germany (May 26 to 28)

In the most recent episode of The Smoking Tire Podcast, Ex-Showrunner Peter Lenkov admitted that he wasn’t as passionate about MacGyver as he had been about Magnum PI and Hawaii Five-0. In Instagram Stories posted a few months ago, he had hinted to just saying yes because he wanted to be a “good little employee” for CBS.

MacGyver Reboot Update #184

The MacGyver cast has several movies in post-production. Also, the MacGyver Musical concept album is out today.

Lucas Till on set of The Collective (via Sid O’Connell)

(For daily news and to discuss your favourite topics, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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Upcoming Movie Projects for the MacGyver Cast
Several cast members of the MacGyver Reboot have movies in post-production:

• Jamojaya with Henry Ian Cusick premiered at Sundance Film Festival on January 23. There’s no cinematic release date yet. It might be screened at more festivals first.
• The Collective with Lucas Till: I don’t expect a release date announced before early Summer. It’s probably a limited cinematic release or straight-to-streaming.
• Bang with Tristin Mays: An Instagram post back in October stated “April”. Since then, there was no mention of it. The project doesn’t even have an IMDb page. I expect a release straight-to-streaming.
• The Comic Shop with Tristin Mays has wrapped just before Christmas. I expect a limited cinematic release, though it might be shopped at film festivals.
• For Cory with Levy Tran was made by stunt crew mostly. It’s a new production company, so they might try shopping it around at film festivals.
• Expend4bles with Levy Tran: The release date is set for September 22. I expect an US and international cinematic release; including several press circuits.
• The script for Half Baked 2 was written by Justin Hires (who also has a cameo in it). It is planned as straight-to-streaming, but could still get a limited cinematic release.

What are Cast and Crew up to?
We got a few new BtS photos for The Collective; e.g. of the portraits photoshoot by Still Photographer Bryan Marchulaitis or by Sid O’Connell. Sadly, several crew members deleted BtS photos after excited fans had re-uploaded the photos across several social media platforms and websites without giving proper credit.

Henry Ian Cusick doing a photocall for Jamojaya at Sundance (Emily Assiran/Contour via Getty Images)

A second press release by Deadline announced Paul Ben-Victor and Mercedes Varnado as co-stars. In And Action! Podcast Episode 33 regarding stunts, director Tom DeNucci teased the fans that the movie will be very action-packed and stunt-heavy; and that he was very pleased with the first cut after the editing sessions.

It’s been about 3 years, but the promo for Son of the South hasn’t stopped. On February 4, Lucas Till will make an appearance at an honorary screening for Bob Zellner (who’s story the movie is based on) in Seattle.

In the past, the movie had had several screenings with Lucas either joining via video call or the organisators just playing a pre-recorded Q&A, so it will be nice to see him out and about again after such a long time.

Henry Ian Cusick attended the premiere of Jamojaya at Sundance; joining the photo calls and Q&As and enjoying several days at the festival. Including the premiere, there will be 7 screenings in total. The Season Finale of Big Sky aired on January 18. The show hasn’t been renewed yet.

According to Deadline, rebooted Murdoc actor David Dastmalchian has launched his own production company called Good Fiend Films. The company will produce character-driven projects across horror, sci-fi and fantasy for film, television, audio and publishing. The first project released will be horror movie Late Night with the Devil, starring David as a 1970s late-night talk show host. The film will make its world premiere at SXSW Film Festival in Texas this March.

Tristin Mays and Marlon Webb attending the premiere of The Last of Us (Rodin Eckenroth via WireImage)

On January 9, Tristin Mays attended the Los Angeles Premiere of the new HBO show The Last of Us. She was accompanied by Marlon Webb.

In a new episode of In My Feelings, Justin Hires talked about why he had stopped auditioning for a while in 2021. He mentioned that he’s developing and producing some shows that have A-list-actors attached. Justin is also working on the script for Homecoming again (a movie that has been in development for quite some time).

Yesterday, Levy Tran posted an Instagram Story with the statement “Yay for knee rehabilitation excercises”; hinting at hurting her knee a while ago. She revealed that she was barely able to walk stairs last month; finally being able to do squats again.

Eli Cusick and Henry Ian Cusick doing a photocall for Jamojaya at Sundance (John Salangsang/Variety via Getty Images)

There’s still no news regarding Meredith Eaton or George Eads.

MacGyver The Musical
ICYMI: The release date for the MacGyver Musical Album is set for today. You can find the track list and order the album here.

Singers and producers did several short interviews for promo; for example Brandon Victor Dixon (e.g. with Musical Theatre Radio), Lee David Zlotoff (e.g. for TV Brittany or for Like It’s Live with Peter Lurye) or Tristin Mays (for the Official MacGyver Account).

For people who have subscribed to Lee’s Musical Newsletter, an exclusive interview with Tristin and some BtS footage should drop today as well.

MacGyver The Musical CD Cover (via Broadway Records)

There have been hints about the musical launching stage productions in other cities for a limited run. Since then, there has been no concrete news regarding another stage run being planned or which city will be next.

I’d never produced a musical before. I’d never produced an album before. But I said, “Well, you know, we’ll just MacGyver our way through this.” And that’s exactly what we did.

Lee David Zlotoff, via TV Britanny F (January 25)

Other MacGyver-related News
MacGyver Reboot guest star Sheryl Lee Ralph (Mama Colton) won a Critics Choice Award as “Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series” in Abbott Elementary.

Tristin Mays and Jesse Metcalfe in a BtS photo on set of The Comic Shop (via Jonathan Bowen)

Other MacGyver-related news you might have missed:

• Since January 6, ion Mystery airs reruns of ten episodes of the MacGyver Reboot on Fridays.
• The German DVD/BluRay of Secret Headquarters with Levy Tran was released on January 19. The UK version was released on January 23.
• Richard Dean Anderson will attend Steel City Con (March 31 to April 2) in Pittsburgh.
• According to this tweet, RDA will also attend Comic Con Prague (April 14 to 16). He’s not listed on the website yet, but fellow actor Corin Nemec (Stargate SG-1) is.

MacGyver Reboot Update #183

The MacGyver cast has been busy in recent months. There are several projects in post-production; most of them being released this year.

Christmas family photo with Lucas Till (via Dana Till)

(For daily news and to discuss your favourite topics, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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Upcoming Projects for the MacGyver Cast
Several cast members of the MacGyver Reboot have projects in post-production. Sadly, there isn’t much information yet. Most of the cast members have been laying low on social media and didn’t post much themselves. But some were tagged in photos and videos by other people – mostly in work-related projects, but also after work.

The IMDb entry for The Collective with Lucas Till keeps getting updated, but it’s a slow process. Director Tom DeNucci isn’t very forthcoming with material revealing faces or names. In his latest podcast episode, he mentioned that there are still a few surprises coming our way.

George Eads spending Christmas with friends (via Carrie Berkman Lewis)

Some of the crew members uploaded short video snippets as an end-of-year-review. We got a few snippets with Lucas; e.g. by Instagram Accounts “Keyy West” or “brandnamekel“. So far, no one has posted a nice BtS photo in good quality. This makes it a lot harder for fans to share content and promote the movie.

Filming for The Comic Shop with Tristin Mays has wrapped just before Christmas. We got several BtS photos of Tristin with co-stars and crew members; e.g. by David Lautman, by director Jonathan Bowen or by producer Eduard Osipov. There is still no official information yet about Bang, the movie that Tristin filmed last Summer in Thailand.

Jesse Metcalfe and Tristin Mays in a BtS photo on set of The Comic Shop (via David Lautman)

Levy Tran plays a coroner in action movie For Cory. The release date for Expend4bles has been set for September.

Justin Hires filmed a pilot presentation in Atlanta recently. After finishing Half Baked 2, he’s now working on the script for Homecoming again (a movie that has been in development for quite some time).

Movie Jamojaya with Henry Ian Cusick will premiere at Sundance Film Festival on January 23. Including the premiere, there will be 7 screenings. Meanwhile, there are only two more episodes left for Season 3 of Big Sky. The ratings aren’t that great, so current predictions lean towards cancellation.

George Eads spending Christmas with friends (via Chaz Dean)

Meredith Eaton tweeted in November that she has several projects in the pipepline, but there hasn’t been any indication that she’s been filming a project. Maybe it’s the book she talked about wanting to write?

We got several sightings while the cast celebrated Christmas; e.g. of Lucas (by Mama Till) or of George Eads (by ex-wife Monika Casey).

MacGyver on TV
ICYMI: CBS streaming service Paramount+ was launched in German-speaking regions on December 8. I’ve seen several tweets about the MacGyver Reboot not being available (presumably because it’s currently on Amazon Prime here) and the Original Show not being available in HD.

Promo Tweet for MacGyver on ion Mystery

Starting January 8, the reruns of the MacGyver Reboot ionTV will be replaced by reruns of Bones. Instead, the reruns of MacGyver will air on ion Mystery. Starting today with the first 10 episodes of Season 1, it will be back on Fridays.

German FreeTV channel Kabel 1 aired four episodes back to back on Saturdays since mid-November. Sadly, after airing Episode 2×03 before the Christmas Break, it has already replaced them with reruns of Hawaii Five-0. At least, German FreeTV channel Nitro started airing the Original Show again.

Other MacGyver-related News
ICYMI: Original MacGyver Richard Dean Anderson and his Stargate SG-1 co-star Amanda Tapping attended the Paris Manga Sci-Fi Show on December 3rd and 4th. They attended two panels and several hours of photo and autograph sessions. In Episode 252 of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast (uploaded on January 4), Amanda talked about her projects and that she talks (or texts) with RDA all the time, even though they don’t see each other very often.

Levy Tran and her Jiu Jitsu class (via Roberto Traven)

Other MacGyver-related news you might have missed:

• Sandrine Holt has been cast in Disney+ Series Daredevil.
• The German DVD/BluRay of Secret Headquarters will be released on January 19, 2023.
• Starting today, the MacGyver Musical Album can be pre-ordered. You can find the track list and the pre-order link here. The release date is set for January 27.

MacGyver Reboot Update #176

Levy Tran’s new movie Secret Headquarter is out. Meanwhile, MacGyver fans are waiting for casting news regarding the other cast members.

BtS photo of Secret Headquarters (via Dustin Ingram)

(For daily news and to discuss your favourite topics, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What are Cast and Crew up to?
Last Friday, Levy Tran’s movie Secret Headquarters was released on Paramount+. There was just a tiny glimpse of Levy in the trailer, and she wasn’t in any of the 50 Official Stills on IMDb. At least she’s in an Official Still provided in an article by CBS Watch Magazine. There was a red carpet premiere in New York on August 8, but Levy didn’t attend the carpet nor the press day.

Levy Tran as Virginia in Secret Headquarters (Hopper Stone/Paramount Pictures via CBS Watch Magazine)

We got a new BtS photo by fellow actor Dustin Ingram; presumably taken during a break in between weapons training lessons. A few days later, he posted a BtS photo from set. Levy herself posted some BtS photos on Instagram as well.

Reviews so far aren’t overwhelming, and Levy doesn’t have as many scenes as I hoped, but being in a fun family movie might open doors for different roles. The movie has reached Rank 1 in the streaming charts in five countries so far. Because of the push to streaming, the cinematic release in several countries (e.g. Germany) has been cancelled. Since Paramount+ isn’t available in German-speaking countries yet, the movie might get a direct-to-DVD-release instead.

More than 5 months after her episode of Magnum PI aired, Levy also posted some BtS photos.

Nick, Lucas and Mama Till (via Dana Till)

ICYMI: Last month, we got new photos of Lucas Till with Nick and Mama Till. On August 10, Lucas got many birthday wishes on social media. There was a Twitter mention of a sighting in Canada, but no photos nor any further mentions, so we don’t know how he spent his special day.

Justin Hires directed a project in Atlanta a few weeks ago, but we don’t have any further information about it yet. Maybe another music video? He keeps doing comedy shows; mostly in the LA and Florida area. While popping in during the Day 1s Podcast recently, he revealed that he will record more Urban Legendz Podcast interviews soon. The new episodes will presumably start airing next month.

Justin Hires during a stand up comedy set (via Michael Schwartz)

ICYMI: Henry Ian Cusick has been cast as a recurring character on the 3rd season of ABC show Big Sky which is currently filming in New Mexico.

MacGyver on DVD
ICYMI: In France, the Season 4 DVD was released on August 17.

Both the Season 5 DVD and the Complete Series Box Set with 23 discs have a release date of September 21. The DVD cover previews are the same ones as in Germany. There’s no further information about the bonus material yet.

Tristin Mays recording for the MacGyver Musical Concept Album (via MacGyver Global)

MacGyver The Musical
ICYMI: A few weeks ago, they declared RJ Christian as the winner who will sing as Angus MacGyver on the MacGyver musical concept album. He has already recorded his part.

There hasn’t been any confirmation if the release date for the album is still set for September. The official website simply says “fall” and that there will be a few surprises.

CBS Pilot Season (encore)
ICYMI: NBC has ordered 20 more episodes of Magnum PI; split into two seasons. Filming is supposed to start next month, so it will be a midseason show. According to the writers, they will have the same writing crew as for Season 4, so there might be a chance of Levy’s character coming back for another guest appearance.

Lucas Till with friends (via Stephan Perez)

So far, none of the MacGyver cast or of the writers is attached to any of the CBS rookie shows, though some of the MacGyver writers are still working on some older other CBS shows (e.g. Star Trek). Also, CBS seems rather slow on updating show information on IMDb this year.

Other MacGyver-related News
Since last year, Showrunner Monica Macer had been attached to a drama series with Henry Ian Cusick and director David Straiton. Her entry as a producer has been recently removed from the IMDb movie page, while two other producers have been added. It looks like the interest is still there to get the series made, but it might still be stuck in “development hell” for quite some time.

Preview of the French Season 5 DVD (via Amazon)

Other MacGyver-related news you might have missed:

• MacGyver Reboot writer Andrew Klein co-wrote the script for RIPD 2: Rise of the Damned, one of Lenkov’s upcoming TV movies. The movie (which is actually a prequel) is currently in post-production. Fun Fact: One of the main characters (played by Richard Fleeshman) is actually named Angus.
• On August 8, the third cycle of MacGyver Reboot episode reruns started on ion Television.
• According to Amazon France, the DVD for Un Fils du Sud (aka Son of the South) with Lucas Till will be out on August 23.

MacGyver Reboot Update #175

The first trailer of Levy Tran’s new movie is out. Meanwhile, MacGyver fans are waiting for news regarding the other cast members.

ionTV website header

(For daily news and to discuss your favourite topics, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What are Cast and Crew up to?
ICYMI: End of June, we got two photos of Lucas Till with Bob Zellner (presumably for an event by Shirts Across America). On July 13, we got a new sighting of Lucas attending a bachelor party in Austin, Texas. His mother Dana Till provided new photos of herself with her sons on July 23.

Lucas Till and Bob Zellner (via Shirts Across America)

Levy Tran’s movie Secret Headquarters will premiere on August 5 on Paramount+. They released an official poster plus the trailer on July 14. There’s just a tiny glimpse of Levy in the trailer, so I’m hoping for more material. About 50 Official Stills have been added on IMDb, but Levy isn’t on any of them and her character doesn’t have a name yet.

Justin Hires was out and about in Atlanta this week. It looks like he filmed a project with some fellow comedians, but we don’t have further information yet. It might be a commercial or a comedy bit. According to an Insta Story a week ago, he also took a Pole Dance Lesson.

BtS photo of Justin Hires (via Teague Hagans)

ICYMI: Henry Ian Cusick attended Mississippi Comic Con; happily posing with fans on photo ops (sometimes even as Russ Taylor). On July 4th, he spent time with some of his LOST-costars in Hawaii. As Deadline reported on July 18, he’s been cast as a recurring character on the 3rd season of ABC show Big Sky.

Tristin Mays hasn’t posted much since wrapping her scenes for Bang, a movie co-written and produced by Ex-Showrunner Peter Lenkov. We got an Instagram Story sighting of her with Alain Uy (who guest-starred in MacGyver Reboot Episode 5×14). He didn’t give any information about location and reasons, but it looked like they’re standing in front of a stage set wall. There was also a sighting at a friend’s birthday party this week.

Tristin Mays sighting (via Alain Uy)

MacGyver on DVD
ICYMI: In Germany, the Season 5 DVD was released on June 30. All the extras (deleted and extended scenes for Episodes 5×06, 5×13, 5×14 and 5×15) have a runtime of about 9 minutes. You can order the DVD here. On the same day, they also released the German version of the Complete Series Box Set with 24 discs. The bonus material is the same as for the single season editions.

In Japan, the Special Selection Season 4 DVD Box and the Season 5 DVD were both released on July 6.

Josh Holloway, Daniel Dae Kim and Henry Ian Cusick (via Josh Holloway)

Overview of the upcoming DVD releases in France:

• The Season 4 DVD will be released on August 17.
• The Season 5 DVD will be released on September 21.
• The Complete Series Box Set with 23 discs will be released on September 21.

MacGyver The Musical
ICYMI: There was a contest of who will sing as MacGyver on the MacGyver musical concept album. Check here for more information on who made it into the public voting phase. Voting ended on July 25. The finalists will be announced on August 1, the winner on August 4.

Tristin Mays recording for the MacGyver Musical Concept Album (via MacGyver Global)

There’s an official poster for the album, but no release date (though it’s been mentioned that it will come out in September).

MacGyver on ionTV
Since July 11, ion Television airs several episodes of Leverage: Redemption on Mondays. To make room on the schedule, ionTV reduced the number of MacGyver reruns; airing 10 episodes instead of 16. The second cycle of reruns will end on August 8; followed by the start of the third cycle on the same day.

Lucas Till with friends (via Shawn Toao Hughes)

CBS Pilot Season (encore)
ICYMI: NBC has ordered 20 more episodes of Magnum PI; split into two seasons. There’s no release date and they haven’t started filming yet, so it will probably be a midseason show. According to the writers, they will have the same writing crew as for Season 4, so there might be a chance of Levy’s character coming back for another guest appearance.

So far, none of the MacGyver cast or of the writers is attached to any of the rookie shows, though some of the MacGyver writers are still working on other CBS shows (e.g. Star Trek).

Other MacGyver-related News
Check out the official SaveMacGyver website and their social media accounts to keep up with news about the #SaveMacGyver movement.

Nick, Lucas and Mama Till (via Dana Till)

Other MacGyver-related news you might have missed:

• David Dastmalchian has been filming for Late Night With the Devil in Australia. He’s booked for several upcoming movies.
• MacGyver Reboot writer Andrew Klein co-wrote the script for RIPD 2, one of Lenkov’s upcoming TV movies.
• Since last year, Showrunner Monica Macer had been attached to a movie with Henry Ian Cusick and director David Straiton. Her name has been recently removed from the IMDb movie page.
• OG MacGyver Richard Dean Anderson’s daughter Wylie is an actress as well. Her movie Don’t Worry, Darling will premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It’s not clear yet how big her part is and if she and/or her dad will attend the screening.

MacGyver Reboot Update #172

While CBS Show Magnum PI might get saved after all, the MacGyver cast isn’t attached to any upcoming TV shows yet.

MacGyver Musical Concept Album Promo (via Yasir Muhammad)

(For daily news and to discuss your favourite topics, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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MacGyver The Musical
ICYMI: Back in March, MacGyver-creator Lee David Zlotoff revealed that they’re going to put together a concept album of the songs used for the musical. On May 9, Tristin Mays announced that Lee had asked her to sing a song for the album.

On May 16, recording started in NY; finishing already two days later. We got to see some Instagram Stories of the musical cast rehearsing beforehand, and the official MacGyver account shared a sneak peek of Tristin in the recording booth.

MacGyver Promo (via ionTV)

There’s no release dates yet for the album or the next iteration of the musical. According to an Instagram Story by Mike Dorsey, the album will be out in September. As Yasir Muhammad posted, they’re trying to get a Broadway production set up and running.

MacGyver on ionTV
ICYMI: Reruns of the MacGyver Reboot air every Monday on ion Television. With ionTV scheduling 16 episodes per week, the first run will be done by next week; starting another run immediately after the Season 5 finale has aired.

Interestingly, ionTV has already announced on their website that Leverage: Redemption will air on Mondays; starting July 11. At the moment, the Monday schedule has one episode of NCIS: New Orleans, followed by 5 episodes of NCIS: LA and 16 episodes of MacGyver.

MacGyver Teaser (via ionTV)

It’s not clear if MacGyver will stay or if they will simply reduce the episodes. While NCIS: LA fans have been very vocal and speaking out against the Reboot, they might get their wish to get MacGyver gone, but also lose the reruns of their own favourite show in the process.

I’ve seen a lot of posts on Twitter and FB recently by people who just started watching the MacGyver Reboot on ionTV, not knowing about the show before. But with the Complete Series DVD Box Set coming out soon in the US, it’s also possible that CBS wants to “kill” it in syndication for now so that people watch it on Paramount+ and buy the DVDs. I’ve seen posts about the show leaving Amazon Prime in some countries this month; right on time either the Season 5 DVD or the Complete Series DVD Box Set comes out.

Justin Hires during a stand up comedy set (via Michael Schwartz)

What are Cast and Crew up to?
Most of the MacGyver cast seem to have disappeared from social media. Justin Hires is the only one posting daily; promoting his comedy shows or podcasts. He mentioned turning down several TV show offers, so we probably won’t seem him on our TV screens anytime soon (unless it’s in reruns).

ICYMI: Ex-Showrunner Peter Lenkov recently posted some stories about the Unaired MacGyver Pilot; adding some excerpts of the script (presumably the edited version he “MacGyvered” out of the script used for the unaired pilot).

(Note: I had envisioned to update my previous blog posts about the Unaired Pilot Script to incorporate the new information about some of the characters; but it’s almost impossible to know which parts and voice-overs were used in the script used for filming and which bits had been added by Lenkov. You can find an overview of the posts regarding the Unaired Pilot here.)

Excerpt of the revised Unaired MacGyver Pilot Script (via Peter Lenkov)

MacGyver on DVD
Sadly, I still haven’t found a preview of the DVD back covers or more info about bonus material. But here’s an overview of all the upcoming DVD releases:

• In German-spaking regions, the Season 5 DVD will be released on June 30. The listed bonus material says there will be deleted and extended scenes. You can pre-order it here. For the US, there’s no release date yet for a single Season 5 DVD edition.
• In the US, the Complete Series DVD Box (including Season 5) with 21 discs will be released on June 14. There’s no bonus material listed. You can pre-order it here.
• The German version of the complete series box set with 24 discs will be released on June 30. So far, the bonus material listed is the same as for Seasons 1 and 2.
• In Japan, the Special Selection Season 4 DVD Box and the Season 5 DVD will both be released on July 6.
• In France, the Season 4 DVD will be released on August 17. There is no bonus material listed.

CBS Pilot Season (encore)
Upfronts Week was pretty brutal this year. In total, CBS and their affiliate network The CW cancelled almost a dozen shows.

MacGyver Promo (via ionTV)

CBS cancelled Magnum PI, the last of the Lenkoverse shows. The CW axed Batwoman who had Javicia Leslie as the lead character in Season 2.

Generally, a show isn’t really cancelled on a network until they release the “Post Mortem Interview” with a showrunner; talking about what would have happened the next season. (Because if the show was renewed against all odds on the same network, showrunners or writers might change and they wouldn’t be able or willing to recycle the same ideas or visions the previous showrunners or writers had.)

Magnum PI never got one of those, so I was sure that something was going on behind the scenes. As Deadline reported yesterday, talks are underway for NBC and/or USA Network to keep the show going.

Private Photoshoot, September 2021 (via Tristin Mays)

I’m not sure what that would mean for some of the guest stars and their characters (e.g. Levy Tran), but characters of fully-owned CBS shows showing up (e.g. Angus MacGyver or Steve McGarrett) probably couldn’t happen.

Despite Upfronts Week, there was no news about The Spook who sat by the Door (which Lucas Till filmed a pilot for). They still haven’t attached a new writer to, so it looks like it might take a while for the re-development to get back on track. There’s also no update on the Flashdance series (which Tristin Mays was preparing for).

Other MacGyver-related News
Check out the official SaveMacGyver website and their social media accounts to keep up with news about the #SaveMacGyver movement.

Official Still for Tom Swift (via CW/IMDb)

Other MacGyver-related news you might have missed:

• The Phoenix Foundation plane set ended up being repurposed for the new CW Show Tom Swift that premiered this week. MacGyver-writer Teresa Huang and several former crew members work on the show which is filmed in Atlanta.
• Secret Headquarters will premiere on Paramount+ instead of in theatres. Levy Tran worked on the movie in Atlanta. She’s still not listed on the IMDb entry, so her part might be smaller than I hoped.

MacGyver Reboot Update #171

While Upfronts Week is imminent, the MacGyver cast isn’t attached to any upcoming TV shows yet. We still got some news in the last few days.

Promo for the Season 5 DVD (via Amazon Germany)

(For daily news and to discuss your favourite topics, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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MacGyver The Musical
MacGyver the Musical had premiered in February in Houston; running several shows a week for a month. Back in March, MacGyver-creator Lee David Zlotoff revealed that they’re going to put together a concept album of the songs.

Last month, the official Instagram account asked the fans who they would like to hear on the album; no matter if the singer is famous or not. The posts have been deleted by now; but I do remember us fans suggesting anyone from the MacGyver cast (rebooted or original version). On May 9, Tristin Mays announced that Lee asked her to sing a song for the album.

MacGyver Promo (via ionTV)

I did see some stories of the musical cast rehearsing this week, but nothing from Tristin (or any Tristin sightings during rehearsals). There’s no release dates yet for the album or the next iteration of the musical.

MacGyver on ionTV
ICYMI: On May 2nd, the MacGyver Reboot premiered on ion Television. They’ve scheduled about 16 episodes each Monday. There was more advertizing on social media than CBS did for Season 5. On April 24, ionTV tweeted about the main characters; providing some info for new viewers unfamiliar with Team Phoenix. They also changed the Twitter header and their profile photo for the occasion. On the following days, they posted posters and trailers. Some of the cast joined the promotion; e.g. Tristin Mays with a BtS video of Episode 5×09.

MacGyver Teaser (via ionTV)

For the second batch of episodes, they kept posting on social media; e.g. a short trailer about Jack Dalton.

MacGyver Profits Lawsuit (encore)
ICYMI: The 2018 profits lawsuit stems from a TV producing deal in the mid-1980s (involving several producers, Paramount and Major Talent Agency) that preceded the original MacGyver show. After the series was rebooted in 2016, Hanzer Holdings and Arlita sued CBS; claiming they’re entitled to a share in profits for MTA’s work for the OG show.

An April trial was pushed back for settlement discussions. As The Hollywood Reporter stated on May 9, terms of the agreement to resolve the lawsuit have been fully executed. A notice of settlement to dismiss the case will be filed by June 23.

Meeting up in Atlanta (via Teresa Huang)

It’s not clear if we’ll ever know the nature of the settlement and if it has any impact on further use of the MacGyver brand.

What are Cast and Crew up to?
ICYMI: A few weeks ago, we got a new Lucas Till sighting in Atlanta. He met up with MacGyver Writer Teresa Huang and TV writer Helen Shang.

While we haven’t seen much of Levy Tran, a first poster for her upcoming movies Expend4bles has been released at CinemaCon.

Justin Hires is still doing regular stand-up comedy shows. Meanwhile, Reign Edwards (who played Leanna) did a lot of promo for Season 2 of The Wilds before the Premiere on May 6.

First poster for Expend4bles (via Martial Arts Action Cinema)

Ex-Showrunner Peter Lenkov keeps answering fan questions as Instagram stories. Sadly, he mostly uses the opportunity to rant about Lucas or “that paperclip show” (forgetting that Lenkov himself was the one making the rebooted Reboot all about paperclips) but every now and then, he posts interesting tidbits (e.g. the budget for Hawaii Five-0 being 100 million dollars every year). This week, he posted some stories about the Unaired MacGyver Pilot; adding some excerpts of the script (presumably the revised version that has been used for filming).

(Note: I will probably update my previous blog posts about the Unaired Pilot Script to incorporate the new information about some of the characters. You can find an overview of the posts regarding the Unaired Pilot here.)

Excerpt of the Unaired MacGyver Pilot Script (via Peter Lenkov)

Otherwise, there wasn’t much going on regarding cast and crew. Stunt Coordinator Daniel Hargrave posted a new BtS photo of Episode 5×06.

MacGyver on DVD
You might have missed some of the DVD news. Here’s an overview of all the upcoming DVD releases:

• In German-spaking regions, the Season 5 DVD will be released on June 30. The listed bonus material says there will be deleted and extended scenes. You can pre-order it here. For the US, there’s no release date yet for a single Season 5 DVD edition.
• In the US, the Complete Series DVD Box (including Season 5) with 21 discs will be released on June 14. There’s no bonus material listed. You can pre-order it here.
• The German version of the complete series box set with 24 discs will be released on June 30. There’s three language options (German, English, French). So far, the bonus material listed is the same as for Seasons 1 and 2.
• In Japan, the Special Selection Season 4 DVD Box and the Season 5 DVD will both be released on July 6.
• In France, the Season 4 DVD will be released on August 17. There is no bonus material listed.

CBS Pilot Season
In the Spotted Ratings forum, the Thursday before Upfronts Week is called Bloody Thursday (because traditionally, cancellation news come on Thursday and Friday). And bloody it was, indeed. In total, CBS and their affiliate network The CW cancelled almost a dozen shows within the last few days (CW even more shows than in the last 5 years combined).

Justin Hires during a stand up comedy set (via The Comedy Chateau)

CBS also cancelled Magnum PI, the last of the Lenkoverse shows. That means that Levy Tran won’t be back as a guest star in her Magnum PI character (unless they bring her back to another show in the same universe; e.g. one of the NCIS shows).

CBS ordered three rookie drama shows to series while passing on all the comedy pilots. The definite schedule will be presented at the Upfronts on May 18. So far, none of the former MacGyver cast members is attached to any of these new shows.

There’s also no news about The Spook who sat by the Door (which Lucas Till filmed a pilot for) or the Flashdance series (which Tristin Mays was interested in; taking ballet lessons). It looks like both projects are still in re-development and might not be ready to get back on track this year.

MacGyver Promo (via ionTV)

Other MacGyver-related News
Check out the official SaveMacGyver website and their social media accounts to keep up with news about the #SaveMacGyver movement. Other MacGyver-related news you might have missed:

• Teri Hatcher attended German Comic Con in Dortmund (April 23 and 24).
• Background actor Tony Morgan re-posted some BtS photos of Episode 1×17 (Ruler) this week.
• Henry Ian Cusick is now attached to 8 upcoming projects on his IMDb page. He’s a busy man.

MacGyver Reboot Update #168

While Pilot Season is underway, the MacGyver cast seems to enjoy some downtime from filming.

Lucas Till enjoying a holiday (via Skyler Samuels)

(For daily news and to discuss all the topics, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What are Cast and Crew up to?
Some of the MacGyver cast were back on our TV screens in recent weeks. Meredith Eaton was on NCIS while Levy Tran was a guest-star on Magnum PI. We got some nice BtS photos by their co-stars; e.g. by Elle Graper, Jason Her or Rich Ting.

BtS photo of Magnum PI Episode 4×15: Dead Man Walking (via Jason Her)

Interestingly, Levy didn’t post or re-post any of the Instagram posts or tweets. While the ratings weren’t high, most fans loved Levy’s episode. Minor Spoiler Alert: Her character could return if the show is renewed.

ICYMI: Henry Ian Cusick has been filming a movie in Phuket which seems to have wrapped by now. We got some more BtS photos; e.g. by Evan Williams.

Tristin Mays keeps being active on social media. She showed us her tin can collectibles and her plants. She seems to have stored up a lot of creative energy, but no upcoming acting job as an outlet.

BtS photo of Henry Ian Cusick (via Evan Williams)

Justin Hires posted the first videos for his new podcast. We don’t know yet if there are any upcoming episodes with the MacGyver cast and/or crew.

Lucas Till visited the UK and Scotland; trying to find Nessie. Meanwhile, Levy Tran was out and about in Atlanta.

George Eads is set to attend a golfing event (Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am) on April 11. Let’s hope he will also attend the photo call.

Posing for a photoshoot (via Tristin Mays)

CBS Pilot Season
It looks like CBS has mostly put together the casts for their Pilot Season dramas. Here’s an overview of the drama pilot orders:

• Cal Fire (CBS)
• Early Edition (Sony/Affirm/CBS)
• East New York (Warner Bros./CBS)
• True Lies (20th Television)
• Untitled Mother & Son Legal Drama (CBS)

CBS also ordered 4 comedy pilots. By ordering 9 pilots in total, the upcoming Fall Season schedule might look quite different when it’s being presented at the Upfronts in May.

Promo for Son of the South (via Heritage Films)

While none of the former MacGyver cast members seems to be attached as regulars or recurrings, they might still get a guest star spot in later episodes. I’m not sure what their chances are and if the outcome of the lawsuit will matter.

Other MacGyver-related News
MacGyver-creator Lee David Zlotoff was a guest on the Making fun of MacGyver podcast. Talking about the musical, he revealed that they’re going to put together a concept album of the songs. They’re also looking into other possible venues for the next productions (maybe even internationally). The next MacGyver novel should be released this year. Lee is also working on a MacGyver VR experience.

Levy Tran in Magnum PI Episode 4×15: Dead Man Walking (CBS via SpoilerTV)

French fans get a lot of Lucas Till lately: French Channel M6 airs up to 6 MacGyver Reboot episodes on Saturdays. Also, Son of the South premiered as Un Fils Du Sud on March 16.

Back in May 2016, The Hollywood Reporter announced Lucas in Sci-Fi Thriller Spectrum. The project has been laying dormant after CBS picked up MacGyver to series (with no changes on IMDb since July 2017). This week, it’s been showing up in the upcoming projects list of Lucas’ IMDb page. There has been no news about it, so it’s possible that someone attached Lucas to the project page again despite no change in production status. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

BtS photo of NCIS 19×13: The Helpers (via Elle Graper)

Other MacGyver-related news you might have missed:

• After almost two years, Richard Dean Anderson posted a photo on Instagram. It’s a photo of his 16-year-old dog Andy.
• FX Series The Spook who sat by the Door is being redeveloped with a new showrunner.
• As The Hollywood Reporter wrote last month, the profits fight over the MacGyver reboot will probably go to trial.

MacGyver Reboot Update #167

Some of the MacGyver cast are back on our TV screens. Also, the MacGyver Profits Lawsuit is going to trial.

Levy Tran in Magnum PI Episode 4×15: Dead Man Walking (CBS via SpoilerTV)

(For daily news and to discuss all the topics, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What are Cast and Crew up to?
Meredith Eaton was a guest-star in the most recent episode of NCIS; reprising the character of immunologist Carol Wilson. Before the episode aired, Meredith posted several new BtS photos as Instagram Stories.

BtS photo of NCIS 19×13: The Helpers (via Meredith Eaton)

Levy Tran will guest-star in tonight’s episode of Magnum PI. She was part of one of the Sneak Peeks, which got fans pretty excited. The storyline for the episode is similar to one used for Original MacGyver, so I’m curious how they’ll approach it.

Recently, Levy cleaned up her Instagram account some more; deleting the majority of her posts and unfollowing some accounts. Her feed consists mostly of Carlos now.

Tristin Mays posing for a photoshoot (via Black History Matters)

Tristin Mays was quite active on social media in recent weeks. She teased us with another project “coming soon” and revealed that she found her new favorite pants (that she’s been wearing for almost all of her latest photoshoots) at Goodwill.

She answered some fan questions as well; revealing that George Eads had wanted to name her dog “Cool” and that she was the one eating the most on set of MacGyver. She also stated that the relationship between Riley and MacGyver was her favorite and that it mirrored her friendship with Lucas; an understanding that didn’t need to be communicated.

BtS photo of Henry Ian Cusick (via Sanni Antikainen)

ICYMI: Henry Ian Cusick has been filming a movie in Phuket. I still haven’t found out what the project is called, but it kept him from attending Pensacon in Florida. Several of his co-stars and crew members posted BtS photos.

We also got a new photo of Lucas Till presenting his next reading choice. It’s interesting to note that a few posts further down, Lucas’ manager Tom Sullivan also posed with the print editions last December, so that might be the connection how Lucas became aware of the book series.

Lucas Till with the next book on his reading list (via The Drakoneborne)

ICYMI: Of all interviews and clips that Justin Hires posted on the YouTube-account of his Urban Legendz Podcast, the interviews with Lucas Till and Tristin Mays are on Rank 1 (about 4100 hits) and 2 (about 3900 hits) when sorting for most-watched videos. He announced that more interviews and a new podcast are coming soon, but we don’t know yet if there are any upcoming interviews with the MacGyver cast and/or crew.

MacGyver Profits Lawsuit
The Hollywood Reporter published an article on February 23; reporting that the profits fight over the MacGyver reboot is one step closer to trial.

The 2018 suit stems from a TV producing deal in the mid-1980s (involving producers, Paramount and Major Talent Agency) that preceded the original MacGyver show. After the series was rebooted in 2016, Hanzer Holdings and Arlita sued CBS; claiming they’re entitled to a share in profits for MTA’s work for the OG show.

Levy Tran in Magnum PI Episode 4×15: Dead Man Walking (CBS via SpoilerTV)

CBS Pilot Season
Here’s an overview of the CBS drama pilot orders for the upcoming Fall Season:

• Cal Fire (CBS)
• Early Edition (Sony/Affirm/CBS)
• East New York (Warner Bros./CBS)
• True Lies (20th Television)
• Untitled Mother & Son Legal Drama (CBS)

Additionally, CBS ordered 4 comedy pilots. By ordering 9 pilots in total, it seems like they’re ready to overhaul their schedule for Fall and want a good variety of projects to choose from.

Tristin Mays posing for a photoshoot (via FYE Images)

It would be nice to see some former MacGyver cast members attached as regulars/recurrings or at least getting some guest star spots next season. I’m not sure what their chances are and if the outcome of the lawsuit will matter.

Other MacGyver-related News
French Channel M6 premiered MacGyver Reboot Season 4 last Saturday. They aired 3 episodes of Season 4; followed by episodes of Seasons 2 and 1. They will air another 3 episodes of Season 4 tomorrow; again followed by 3 more episodes of former seasons. France sure loves their MacGyver episodes, huh.

French Promo for Son of the South (via Starinvest Films)

ICYMI: FX Boss John Landgraf said to Variety that The Spook who sat by the Door is not moving forward and being redeveloped. According to Deadline, they’re looking for a new writer to pen another pilot. With Leigh Dana Jackson out as writer and showrunner, there’s a good chance that the cast and crew of the current pilot might not be part of the project anymore once it finds its way forward.

Other MacGyver-related news you might have missed:

• The MacGyver The Musical will have their last show tonight. Despite some difficulties (they had to cancel several showings due to Covid), they managed to pull through. Overall, reviews were good.
• Lucas Till’s movie Son of the South will premiere in France on March 16.