MacGyver Reboot Update #157

Lucas Till finished promoting the release of Son of the South in Europe. Meanwhile, Levy Tran has arrived in Europe to start filming an action movie.

Lucas Till in Atlanta, September 2021 (via Stefano Smith)

(For daily news and to join the discussion, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What are Cast and Crew up to?
Lucas Till had been on promo tour in Europe for his movie Son of the South, but some interviews are just being released now. Watch a 20-minute-interview done in Berlin here.

After his return to the US, Lucas sort of disappeared again. We did get a new sighting in Atlanta on September 25, thanks to Stefano Smith (who had been a set medic on MacGyver for several seasons). On Wednesday, he visited a football game (of the team that is coached by his cousin Bryan).

Lucas Till at the French premiere for Son of the South (via Frederic Lebourg)

Levy Tran has been cast in Expendables 4. We don’t know yet how big her part will be, but the Expendables franchise is a big international success and might get her cast in other action-heavy movie roles. She already arrived in London; posting several photos of visiting the British Museum and doing some sightseeing.

ICYMI: Tristin Mays has been filming a production with pirates, dancing and singing. The production is called “Master of the House”, but there’s not much information about it.

International Season 5 Promo (via FOX Spain)

Otherwise, there’s no casting news to write about. Justin Hires keeps doing stand-up-comedy-shows; e.g. in Hollywood. Henry Ian Cusick will visit Comic Con Liverpool next month.

The #SaveMacGyver Movement
For MacGyver Con, a total of 5500 USD was raised for charity. Well done, everyone!

On September 23, fans celebrated the 5-year-anniversary of the premiere of the MacGyver Reboot; posting old BtS material and remembering how they met new friends online due to the show.

The official SaveMacGyver website gets updated regularly; so check here to keep up with news.

Tristin Mays for the MacGyver Con (Screenshot via SaveMacGyverHQ)

CBS Fall TV Season Ratings
Fall Season on CBS started on September 20. So far, 15 shows have premiered. Since last Friday, MacGyver‘s previous time slot is occupied by SWAT.

Lets take a look at the average ratings of the Friday Line-Up. Why is this of interest for us? Simply put: A network cares about money. The better MacGyver looks in comparison to the current schedule, in streaming numbers and in syndication, the more appealing the show looks to CBS; even in hindsight. They might try to squeeze out a few more bucks by selling the rights.

Lucas Till and Bryan Till (via Richmond Raiders)

Of course, they only aired one episode each so far, but the Friday schedule on CBS has a tendency to achieve stable ratings over the season so there won’t be many ups and downs over the next few months.

• SWAT (Friday, 8pm) has moved from Wednesdays 10pm to make room for the revival of CSI: Vegas. The show premiered with a demo of 0.42 in the important demo group of 18 to 49 year olds and 4.859 million live-viewers.

Verdict: Last year, SWAT premiered in November with a demo of 0.44 and only 2.75 million live-viewers. Its fate will depend on the co-producing network. But considering it had an average of 3 million live-viewers per episode last season and therefore a whopping gain of 53% in audience with the premiere this season, it might end up being the winner of the Friday line-up if the show manages to keep these numbers steady.

• Magnum PI (Friday, 9pm) premiered with a series low; reaching a demo of 0.39 (-25% compared to last year) and a live-audience of 5.226 million live-viewers.

Verdict: While the demo in premiere week was the lowest of all CBS shows, it still managed a rather good audience number.

Till Family Outing (via Richmond Raiders)

Since it’s a co-production, it might depend on how long NBCU is willing to pay for it. Even if renewed, it could lose its time slot next season.

• Veteran show Blue Bloods (Friday, 10pm) premiered with a demo of 0.45 (-15%) and a live-audience of 6.297 million viewers. Like lasth year, it does meh for demo, but good in audience numbers.

Verdict: The live-audience loss compared to last season is marginal. Blue Bloods is old and expensive, but it has international and syndication deals in place.

Lucas Till and Bryan Till (via Richmond Raiders)

The live-viewers numbers probably aren’t as important anymore since it’s still bringing in a lot of money.

Other MacGyver-related News
The Reboot is in syndication now; airing double reruns on CW26 (Chicago area) on Saturdays (5-7pm local time) or on CBS (WGCL) Atlanta (12-2am).

Son of the South won an audience award (Prix du public long métrage) at the “Festival International du Film de Fiction Historique” in Toulouse, France. The DVD was released last month in German-speaking regions. Contrary to the US version, the DVD contains about 45 minutes of bonus material; including an interview with Lucas done remotely a few months ago.

Son of the South DVD Cover for German-speaking regions (via DVD Cover)

ICYMI: Ex-Showrunner Peter Lenkov participated in Episode 14 of the Podcast The Working Writer. About 38 minutes in, he talks about the MacGyver Reboot; mainly about the Unaired Pilot.

The Houston premiere for the second production of the MacGyver The Musical has been set for February 2022. You can check the dates and book tickets here.

Other MacGyver-related news in recent weeks you might have missed:

• CBS will release a BluRay boxset of OG MacGyver on November 2. The TV movies will be included, but there will be no extras. You can read up on all information here.
• It looks like the cinematic release of Son of the South in France has been pushed to March 16 next year.
• Another production of the MacGyver The Musical is planned for May 2022. The location isn’t known yet.

MacGyver Reboot Update #156

Lucas Till finished promoting the release of Son of the South in Europe. Meanwhile, Tristin Mays has been filming a project that has her dressed like a pirate.

New round of billboards (via Maria)

(For daily news and to join the discussion, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What are Cast and Crew up to?
ICYMI: Lucas Till has been on promo tour in Europe for his movie Son of the South. He attended the German premiere in Berlin plus the screening and Q&A in Munich. On September 8, he attended the Deauville Film Festival (Festival du Cinéma Américain de Deauville). They did a photoshoot plus interviews on the next day. One interview with Lucas and co-star Sharonne Lanier has been uploaded on YouTube last weekend.

Lucas Till doing press for Son of the South (via Son of the South on FB)

As far as I know, there are no other events planned in Europe. According to AlloCiné, the cinematic premiere in France has been pushed to December 1st. Therefore, it might be a while until we get to hear, see and/or read the rest these interviews.

Tristin Mays has been filming a production with pirates, dancing and singing; serving beer mugs and sailing a ship. The production is called “Master of the House”, but there’s not much information about it. Maybe a short movie? There are several of Tristin’s friends attached that have worked on short movies and parodies before.

Lucas Till at the French premiere for Son of the South (via Festival du Cinéma Américain de Deauville

Ex-Showrunner Peter Lenkov participated in Episode 14 of the Podcast The Working Writer. About 38 minutes in, he talks about the MacGyver Reboot. He states that he had already set his mind on doing Magnum PI next and that CBS called him to look at the Unaired Pilot and give his opinion about it because they were worried about sending it to then-CEO Les Moonves for approval.

He states that CBS gave him the option of firing the entire cast if he wanted, but that he kept Lucas Till and George Eads because he saw the potential big-brother-little-brother dynamic that had worked so well on Hawaii Five-0. (Though it also sounds a bit like he kept Lucas based on his potential looks, the way he mentions his long hair several times.)

Lucas Till on set of the Unaired MacGyver Pilot 2016 (via stunt double Peter Wallack)

He says that he didn’t think the pilot was bad writing, but that it didn’t feel like MacGyver. And that he got the series (aka a 13 episode order) greenlit based on him putting together a 5-minute sizzle reel of what he show could be like; stating that this was “sort of insane”.

The #SaveMacGyver Movement
The panels for the MacGyver Con were up until yesterday. The panels had covered a lot of interesting topics. I don’t know if they will later be uploaded somewhere else.

Emerson Brooks for the MacGyver Con (Screenshot via SaveMacGyverHQ)

Since September 9, there was a new set of digital billboards out (nearby headquarters of streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon); running until September 17.

Yesterday, fans celebrated the 5-year-anniversary of the premiere of the MacGyver Reboot; posting old BtS material and remembering how they met new friends online due to the show. It was fun going through my vault, reminiscing about a time when CBS still had money for decent promo *ahem*.

The official SaveMacGyver website gets updated regularly; so check here to keep up with news.

Season 1 Premiere Billboard in LA (via Byron Nickleberry)

What’s going to happen now?
The first Fall shows on CBS premiered on September 20. Starting October 1, MacGyver‘s Friday slot will be occupied by SWAT – which should have made room for reality competition show The Activist on October 22. After a lot of backlash, The Activist was pulled (without giving a new premiere date). The show will be retooled as a documentary.

Initially, it had been planned for SWAT to take over the slot of SEAL Team as soon as ST has been moved to Paramount Plus. For now, it looks like SWAT will stay on Fridays 8pm until further notice.

Maybe CBS tries a “wait and see” approach. As mentioned before, they sit on two returning shows that haven’t found a timeslot yet: Amazing Race and Blood + Treasure. Also, CSI Vegas is supposed to be a limited series of 10 episodes, but that might change if it turns out to be a ratings hit. Whatever happens, it will be interesting to see how the Friday shows will fare in ratings this year.

New/Old photo of Lucas Till in July 2021 (via Jako Fuchs)

Apparently, the Reboot has been good enough for syndication; airing double reruns on CW26 (Chicago area) on Saturdays (5-7pm).

Other MacGyver-related News
ICYMI: On September 8, Monica Macer joined WeScreenplay for “Cocktails & Conversation”, a podcast talking about the industry and the writing process. You can rewatch it here.

Lee David Zlotoff has announced the second production of the MacGyver The Musical; this time in Houston (Texas). The premiere is in February next year. You can check the dates and book tickets here.

Henry Ian Cusick for the MacGyver Con (Screenshot via SaveMacGyverHQ)

Other MacGyver-related news in recent weeks you might have missed:

• Henry Ian Cusick was at the Dream It Convention on September 19.
• The DVD of Son of the South with Lucas Till is released today in German-speaking regions.
• CBS will release a BluRay boxset of OG MacGyver on November 2. The TV movies will be included, but there will be no extras. You can read up on all information here.
• Another production of the MacGyver The Musical is planned for May 2022. The location isn’t known yet.

MacGyver Reboot Update #155

The panels for the virtual MacGyver Convention are still available to watch! Also, Lucas Till is promoting the release of Son of the South in Europe.

Lucas Till at the Son of the South Screening in Munich (via Busch Media Group)

(For daily news and to join the discussion, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What are Cast and Crew up to?
ICYMI: Lucas Till is on promo tour in Europe for his movie Son of the South. On August 25, he attended the German premiere in Berlin alongside fellow actress Nicole Ansari-Cox and director Barry Alexander Brown. Four days later, he joined Barry and Nicole for the screening and a Q&A in München.

The movie had its French Premiere on September 8 at the Deauville Film Festival (Festival du Cinéma Américain de Deauville). Lucas attended the event in France alongside fellow actors Sharonne Lanier, Matt William Knowles and director Barry Brown. Matt and Barry attended screenings of other films as well.

Lucas Till with Skyler Samuels at the French premiere for Son of the South (via Festival du Cinéma Américain de Deauville)

They did the usual “festival press cycle” (meaning a photoshoot plus interviews) on the next day. There was another screening yesterday afternoon, but I don’t think the cast attended.

While the “big” festival activities with the A-List stars are mostly happening in Venice right now, Deauville still attracts a crowd of photographers and journalists for the European market. As far as I know, there are no other events planned in France (or Europe). According to AlloCiné, the cinematic premiere in France has been pushed to December 1st. Therefore, it might be a while until we get to hear, see and/or read these interviews.

Lucas Till and Sharonne Lanier doing press for Son of the South (via Verane Pick Brown)

Justin Hires has packed up his “Atlanta crib” last week, so he’s apparently not planning on working on another Atlanta project in the near future. The film Levy Tran was working on has wrapped filming on September 2. Otherwise, there haven’t been any official news about new projects for the cast. I’m still hoping on one of them popping up as a guest star on one of the upcoming Fall shows.

On September 8, Monica Macer joined WeScreenplay for “Cocktails & Conversation”, a podcast talking about the industry and the writing process.

The #SaveMacGyver Movement
The panels for the MacGyver Con, a virtual event by the fans, went live on August 28. The panels were pre-recorded, and you can watch them until September 23.

Kate Bond for the MacGyver Con (via SaveMacGyverHQ)

Here’s the full guest/panel list:

• Henry Ian Cusick (Russ Taylor)
• Tristin Mays (Riley Davis)
• Emerson Brooks (Charlie Robinson)
• Kate Bond (Jill Morgan)
• the hosts of the “Making Fun of MacGyver” Podcast
• Tech Consultant Rhett Allain
• Costume Designer Sarah Downer
• five of the stunt actors (Courtland Fuller, Christian Brunetti, Bret McKee, Charles Barden and Donte Walker)
• MacGyver-creator Lee David Zlotoff
• Season 5 writers (including Season 5 Showrunner Monica Macer).

The panels cover a lot of interesting topics. Tristin Mays talked about what it was like to film scenes with Billy Baldwin as Riley Davis’ biological father.

Season 5 Writers for the MacGyver Con (Screenshot via SaveMacGyverHQ)

Henry Ian Cusick revealed that due to covid circumstances and shutdowns, some of his lines in scripts were given to Tristin while he was in quarantine. Another time, he had to speak some of the lines that had been initially intended for Meredith Eaton. Kate Bond talked about where she could have seen her character going in the show if she hadn’t been written out.

For the Writer’s Panel, some of the writers are wearing the striped pajamas that were handed out by Bozer on the Season 5 Finale Episode. For additional info about the MacGyver Convention, check here.

Emerson Brooks for the MacGyver Con (via SaveMacGyverHQ)

The official SaveMacGyver website also gets updated regularly; so check here to keep up with news. Yesterday, the team announced that there’s a new set of digital billboards out there (nearby headquarters of streaming sites like Netflix); running until September 17.

MacGyver in Germany
To Recap: Episode 5×14 (H2O + Orthophosphates + Mission City + Corrosion + Origins) got 0.9 million live-viewers, followed by Episode 5×15 (Abduction + Memory + Time + Fireworks + Dispersal) with 0.84 million live-viewers. Both episodes had a market-share of 3.5%.

Episode 5×15: Abduction + Memory + Time + Fireworks + Dispersal (via Tristin Mays)

On average, a Season 5 episode had a German audience of about 0.83 million live-viewers, which is quite a bit lower than the 1.30 million viewers for Season 4. As mentioned before, the lack of promotion by the network this year certainly didn’t help.

What’s going to happen now?
CBS continues airing a mix of reality shows on Fridays; dropping the Magnum PI reruns on Saturdays in favor of SWAT reruns.

The first Fall shows will start airing in about two weeks. The trailers had been released yesterday. MacGyver‘s Friday slot will be occupied by SWAT which will make room for The Activist on October 22, a Global Citizen competition series that will run for 5 weeks.

Lucas Till with Mama Till before leaving for Europe (via Diana Brady Till)

There has been quite the backlash after the announcement; with statements that activism shouldn’t be a competition that falls on being popular on social media and the like. Of course, the SWAT and Magnum PI fans aren’t happy either (either dreading the potential hiatus or the dropping ratings).

As always, the schedule could still change midseason. CBS sits on two returning shows that haven’t found a timeslot yet: Amazing Race and Blood + Treasure. Whatever happens, it will be interesting to see how the other Friday shows will fare in ratings this year.

International Season 5 Finale Promo (via AXN Asia)

Other MacGyver-related News
Here’s a short overview of MacGyver-related news in recent weeks you might have missed:

• Ed Asner has died at the age of 91. The legendary actor had a part in Episode 2×20 (Skyscraper – Power).
• Henry Ian Cusick is set to appear at the Dream It Convention on September 19.
• There have been hints of the OG show being released as a full BluRay set in November, but there’s no official news yet.
• The OG show plus the Reboot are currently airing on 6 different German-speaking TV channels in three countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

MacGyver Reboot Update #154

It’s MacGyver Convention Weekend! Also, Lucas Till is promoting the release of Son of the South in Europe.

Lucas Till at the Son of the South Premiere in Berlin (via Son of the South Instagram)

(For daily news and to join the discussion, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What are Cast and Crew up to?
Yesterday, Lucas Till’s movie Son of the South arrived in German theaters. On Wednesday, Lucas and Nicole Ansari-Cox plus director Barry Alexander Brown had attended the premiere event in Berlin. It was nice seeing Lucas smiling, posing for a photocall and signing all those MacGyver photographs. There are a lot of fan photos on social media.

Barry will do a Q&A-Tour across Germany for cinematic screenings in several cities (Hamburg, Köln, Heidelberg, Heilbronn, München). Lucas might also attend some more of these screenings (presumably, he will attend at least the one in München), so fans might get to see more photos popping up on social media in the next few days. We don’t know if he’ll enjoy some days off in Germany or if he has other “duties” (e.g. talk show appearances or interviews) in between the screenings.

Lucas Till at the Son of the South Premiere in Berlin (via KulturBlog-Berlin)

The movie will also air at the Deauville Film Festival (Festival du Cinéma Américain de Deauville) in France, which is running from September 3rd to September 12. There’s no official schedule yet on the website, but the French distributor tweeted that the premiere will be on Wednesday, September 8. According to AlloCiné, the cinematic premiere in France has been pushed to December 1st.

There will be restricted access and a limitation of visitors due to the pandemic, but Deauville will still attract a bigger crowd of journalists and maybe even a few paparazzi. There haven’t been many film festivals due to the pandemic in Europe and in several countries, theatres had been closed over Summer. Although the movie is not in competition, I’m sure we can expect at least an official photocall with photos in HD quality plus some more interviews.

Lucas Till at the Son of the South Premiere in Berlin (via Busch Media Group)

There’s still no official news yet if The Spook who sat by the Door has been picked up to series. Tristin Mays seems to have disappeared a bit; leaving her dog Sergeant in the care of a friend – but we don’t know if it was for a holiday or for work. Henry Ian Cusick is set to appear at the Dream It Convention on September 19.

MacGyver in Germany
To Recap: Episode 5×12 (Royalty + Marriage + Vivaah Sanskar + Zinc + Henna) had an audience of 0.73 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.3%, followed by Episode 5×13 (Barn Find + Engine Oil + La Punzonatura + Lab Rats + Tachometer) with 0.83 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.7%. The second episode was followed by the German version of Celebrity Big Brother.

Episode 5×15: Abduction + Memory + Time + Fireworks + Dispersal (via Monica Macer)

Episode 5×14 (H2O + Orthophosphates + Mission City + Corrosion + Origins) got 0.9 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.5%, followed by Episode 5×15 (Abduction + Memory + Time + Fireworks + Dispersal) with 0.84 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.5% as well.

Looking at Season 5, Episode 5×04 had the highest audience numbers in Germany and Episode 5×11 the lowest. The lack of promotion by the network certainly didn’t help in getting as good ratings as in former seasons. It still did better in ratings than FBI: Most Wanted or Magnum PI that have also been on German TV in recent months.

MacGyver Reboot Ratings in Germany (via Quotenmeter)

The #SaveMacGyver Movement
The MacGyver Con, a virtual event by the fans, for the fans will be held this weekend (August 28 and 29). The panels are pre-recorded and there will be raffles with MacGyver-related prizes.

We got several little panel teasers; e.g. of the panel with Lee Zlotoff or the one with Sarah Downer. Also, it was fun to see the teaser of the “writers panel”, since most of them are wearing the striped pajamas that we’ve seen in the Season 5 Finale Episode.

Tristin Mays for the MacGyver Con (via SaveMacGyverHQ)

Here’s the full guest list:

• Henry Ian Cusick (Russ Taylor)
• Tristin Mays (Riley Davis)
• Emerson Brooks (Charlie Robinson)
• Kate Bond (Jill Morgan)
• the hosts of the “Making Fun of MacGyver” Podcast
• Tech Consultant Rhett Allain
• Costume Designer Sarah Downer
• five of the stunt actors (Courtland Fuller, Christian Brunetti, Bret McKee, Charles Barden and Donte Walker)
• MacGyver-creator Lee David Zlotoff
• Season 5 writers (including Season 5 Showrunner Monica Macer).

For all infos about the MacGyver Convention and to buy tickets for the panels and the raffles, check here.

Henry Ian Cusick for the MacGyver Con (via SaveMacGyverHQ)

The official SaveMacGyver website also gets updated regularly; so check here to keep up with news.

What’s going to happen now?
CBS continues airing reality shows Secret Celebrity Renovation (8pm) and Greatest AtHome Videos (9pm) on Fridays; also dropping the Magnum PI reruns on Saturdays. Comparing all Summer Shows on CBS, the current Friday reality shows have the lowest demo-rating (0.28 and 0.27). Overall, all networks are struggling with ratings this Summer, so CBS isn’t doing too bad yet.

It’s worth noting that ViacomCBS is selling a lot of their assets lately. Maybe, them cancelling MacGyver for financial reasons wasn’t as far-fetched as I thought.

International Season 5 Finale Promo (via AXN Asia)

Other MacGyver-related News
ICYMI: Swiss TV channel 3+ started airing Season 5 on August 20. Every Friday, a single Season 5 episode is followed by an episode of Season 4. Currently, the OG show plus the Reboot are airing on 6 different German-speaking TV channels in three countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). Sadly, Nitro still airs the OG show in low DVD quality and not in the new BluRay quality.

The MacGyver Season 4 DVD was released in German-speaking regions; showing a slightly different backcover than the US version. It was expected, but is still disappointing that this is the first Season on German DVDs without any extras.

Season 4 DVD backcover for Germany (via Orell Füssli)

MacGyver Reboot Update #153

Season 5 airs in Germany currently. Meanwhile, several interview panels for the MacGyver Convention have been recorded.

Episode 5×09: Rails + Pitons + Pulley + Pipe + Salt (via CBS)

(For daily news and to join the discussion, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What’s going to happen now?
Tonight, CBS still has reality shows Secret Celebrity Renovation (8pm) and Love Island (9pm) on the schedule. Out of the three Summer Shows, Secret Celebrity Renovation has the lowest demo-rating (0.27).

Interestingly, there’s still reruns of cancelled show NCIS: New Orleans scheduled for Saturdays. That’s probably the reason why the show hasn’t been wiped off the CBS press site yet (contrary to MacGyver).

International Season 5 Finale Promo (via AXN Asia)

ICYMI: MacGyver Season 5 got the “Gender-Balance Seal of Approval” by ReFrame, the gender equity coalition (founded by Women in Film and the Sundance Institute and IMDbPro).

What are Cast and Crew up to?
ICYMI: Back in May, Lucas Till did an interview with Cine Art Variety which was recently uploaded on YouTube. Lucas talked about the cancellation and how he really liked Season 5 (especially Episode 5×10). He also stated that he would like to do more TV shows, but for guest and/or recurring parts and not as the main character.

There’s no official news yet if The Spook who sat by the Door has been picked up to series, but the hints are there that it did. Writer/Showrunner Leigh Dana Jackson tweeted on July 17:

Of course, it’s still possible that Lucas’ character won’t be involved in the rest of the episodes – but one can hope, right? Today, the FX Network has their press day for the TCA (Television Critics Association), so maybe we’ll get some good news soon. If the show was picked up, it might air midseason or at least next Fall.

Levy Tran is still working on the movie “Secret Headquarters”; a project from Paramount and Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Owen Wilson. It’s set for a release date of August 22 next year. In her spare time, she’s working on her martial arts skills.

Levy Tran Selfie in May 2021

ICYMI: Henry Ian Cusick has several projects listed on IMDb; including a TV show with David Straiton and Monica Macer as producers. There’s no official project news yet for the rest of the regular cast. Some of the writers found work on other CBS shows (e.g. Teresa Huang on SEAL Team and Andrew Karlsruher on Bull).

MacGyver in Germany
To Recap: Episode 5×07 (Golden Lancehead + Venom + Pole Vault + Blood + Baggage) garnered 0.8 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.3%; followed by Episode 5×08 (SOS + Hazmat + Ultrasound + Frequency + Malihini) with 0.92 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.9%.

Episode 5×10: Diamond + Quake + Carbon + Comms + Tower (video screenshot via Levy Tran)

Last week, Episode 5×09 (Rails + Pitons + Pulley + Pipe + Salt) got 0.8 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.2%, followed by Episode 5×10 (Diamond + Quake + Carbon + Comms + Tower) with 0.76 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.2% as well.

For once, they aired a third episode at 11.15pm. Episode 5×11 (C8H7CIO + Nano-Trackers + Resistance + Maldives + Mind Games) had 0.71 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.9%.

Episode 5×11: C8H7ClO + Nano-Trackers + Resistance + Maldives + Mind Games (via CBS)

Yesterday, Episode 5×12 (Royalty + Marriage + Vivaah Sanskar + Zinc + Henna) had 0.73 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.3%, followed by Episode 5×13 (Barn Find + Engine Oil + La Punzonatura + Lab Rats + Tachometer). The second episode did quite a bit better, reaching 0.83 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.7%.

Note that this episode was followed by the German version of Celebrity Big Brother instead of FBI: Most Wanted, which might be one of the reasons for having a higher audience than for the last four episodes.

Episode 5×12: Royalty + Marriage + Vivaah Sanskar + Zinc + Henna (via Anne Renton)

So far, Episode 5×04 had the highest audience numbers and Episode 5×11 the lowest. The hot and sunny weather and the continued lack of promotion by the network certainly didn’t help in getting as good ratings as in former seasons.

The MacGyver Season 4 DVD will be released next Thursday in German-speaking countries; right on the same day as the Season 5 Finale airs on “free” TV.

Episode 3×11: Mac + Fallout + Jack (via Sarah Downer)

Here’s the upcoming German Episode Titles:

• 5×14: Der Tod kommt langsam (literal translation: Death arrives slowly; H2O + Orthophosphates + Mission City + Corrosion + Origins)
• 5×15: Gedankenkontrolle (Mind Control; Abduction + Memory + Time + Fireworks + Dispersal)

The #SaveMacGyver Movement
The MacGyver Con, a virtual event by the fans, for the fans will be held on August 28 and 29. The panels are pre-recorded. For all infos about the MacGyver Convention and to buy tickets and swag bags, check here.

MacGyver Creator Lee David Zlotoff for the MacGyver Con (via SaveMacGyverHQ)

Guests announced so far are Henry Ian Cusick, Tristin Mays, Emerson Brooks (Charlie Robinson), Kate Bond (Jill Morgan), the hosts of the “Making Fun of MacGyver” Podcast, Tech Consultant Rhett Allain, Costume Designer Sarah Downer, MacGyver-creator Lee David Zlotoff plus the Season 5 writers (including Season 5 Showrunner Monica Macer).

Of course, fans are still hoping to get the other regular cast members as guests as well.

ICYMI: There was a Birthday Charity Fundraiser set up in honor of Lucas Till. The proceeds of 1300 US Dollars will go to Shirts Across America; a charity Lucas has worked with before.

The Season 5 Writers for the MacGyver Con (via SaveMacGyverHQ)

The official SaveMacGyver website gets updated regularly; so check here to keep up with news. There should be another billboard soon; this time in Canada.

Other MacGyver-related News
ICYMI: German company Koch Films is still working on the BluRay box set of the Original Show. Michael Des Barres hinted at doing an interview for a featurette. There’s no information yet about other BtS stuff or interviews that will be on the box set. So far, they haven’t been able to reach Original MacGyver Richard Dean Anderson.

Season 4 DVD Cover for Japan (via Cityhunter)

Here’s a short overview of MacGyver-related news in recent weeks you might have missed:

• Starting this month, the MacGyver Reboot is now available to stream on IMDbTV (presumably US-only).
• Swiss TV channel 3+ will start airing Season 5 on August 20 (Friday, 8.15pm), followed by an episode of Season 4.
• The premiere for Lucas Till’s movie Son of the South in Germany is set for August 26. The DVD/BluRay will be released on September 24.

MacGyver Reboot Update #152

Season 5 airs in Germany currently. Meanwhile, we have news about the MacGyver Convention with an amazing guest list.

Episode 5×01: Resort + Desi + Riley + Window Cleaner + Witness (via Jessica Sanchez)

(For daily news and to join the discussion, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What’s going to happen now?
ICYMI: A few weeks ago, pieces of the MacGyver wardrobe have been put on sale at the Atlanta Dream Center Church. All proceeds went to local non-profit.

CBS keeps airing reality shows Secret Celebrity Renovation (8pm) and Love Island (9pm) on Fridays; with Secret Celebrity Renovation currently having the lowest demo-rating (0.29) of the three CBS Summer Shows.

International Season 5 Finale Promo (via AXN Asia)

MacGyver Season 5 got the “Gender-Balance Seal of Approval” by ReFrame. ReFrame, the gender equity coalition (founded by Women in Film and the Sundance Institute and IMDbPro), recently announced the 117 TV and streaming shows that earned the ReFrame Stamp for the years 2020 to 2021.

What are Cast and Crew up to?
ICYMI: Justin Hires has been doing several great podcast episodes. The one with Meredith Eaton (uploaded on April 27 on Patreon) is now also available on YouTube.

Urban Legendz Podcast with Meredith Eaton and Justin Hires

Back in April or May, Lucas Till had done an interview with Cine Art Variety. You can now find it on YouTube as well. Lucas talked about how the cancellation has come as a big and sad surprise, but that he doesn’t like to look back and dwell too much on projects in the past.

He talked about how he really liked Season 5 (and especially Episode 5×10) and working action scenes with Stunt Coordinator Daniel Hargrave. He also revealed that he keeps the notes with his lines he wrote down for memorizing and makes them leather-bound to give to his parents.

Cine Arte Variety with Aymara Limma and Lucas Till

When asked about funny BTS stories, he talked about Episode 3×04 (Guts + Fuel + Hope) and the “zipper problem”. Lucas stated that he would like to do more TV shows, but for guest and/or recurring parts and not as the main character. That way, he could work on his acting skills while being able to enjoy it more; especially with having less pressure when not being the lead actor yet still having sufficient financial security.

Levy Tran has already started working on a new project called “Secret Headquarters”; a movie project from Paramount and Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Owen Wilson. It’s set for a release date of August 22 next year. In an Instagram Story on July 15, she promised us lots of action. She’s also been announced as the lead actress in “The Silk Road”; a film slated to be filmed next year.

Costume Fitting with Justin Hires (via Sarah Downer)

Henry Ian Cusick has some convention appearances scheduled for this and next year. Additionally, he has several projects listed on IMDb; including a TV show with David Straiton as director and showrunner and Monica Macer as producer.

Most of the former crew members are currently working on different projects. Director of Photography Christopher Jon Duddy posted a script title page of Magnum PI Episode 402 (which started filming Season 4 on July 20).

As Lane Amelia posted in one of her Instagram Stories, the potted plants used in Episode 5×14 (for being thrown at a bad guy by Momma Bozer) are still alive.

Episode 5×05: Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO (Nathan Bolster/CBS via Seat42F)

MacGyver in Germany
German Channel Sat.1 airs two episodes of Season 5 on Thursays 8.15pm, followed by two episodes of FBI: Most Wanted. The ratings of the first two episodes were lower than expected, but have been rising in the second week – only to drop again last week.

To Recap: Episode 5×01 (Resort + Desi + Riley + Window Cleaner + Witness) had 850’000 live-viewers with a market-share of 3.1%, followed by Episode 5×02 (Thief + Painting + Auction + Viro-486 + Justice) with 890’000 live-viewers and a market-share of 3.4%.

Episode 5×05: Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO (video screenshot via Levy Tran)

Episode 5×03 (Eclipse + Usmc-1856707 + Step Potential + Chain Lock + Ma) had 0.86 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.3%; followed by Episode 5×04 (Banh Bao + Sterno + Drill + Burner + Mason) with 1.2 million live-viewers and a market-share of 4.4%.

Episode 5×05 (Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO) got 0.74 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.2%, followed by Episode 5×06 (Quarantine + N95 + Landline + Telescope + Social Distance) with 0.8 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.6%.

Episode 5×07: Golden Lancehead + Venom + Pole Vault + Blood + Baggage (via Blake Welch)

Yesterday, Episode 5×07 (Golden Lancehead + Venom + Pole Vault + Blood + Baggage) garnered 0.8 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.3%; followed by Episode 5×08 (SOS + Hazmat + Ultrasound + Frequency + Malihini) with 0.92 million live-viewers and a market-share of 3.9%.

So far, Episode 5×04 had the highest audience numbers and Episode 5×05 the lowest. Generally, the second episode airing at 9.15pm seems to do better in ratings. Of course, the sunny weather and lack of promotion by the network doesn’t help in getting as good ratings as in former seasons.

MacGyver Reboot Ratings in Germany (via Quotenmeter)

Here’s the upcoming German Episode Titles:

• 5×09: Codex 2.0 (Rails + Pitons + Pulley + Pipe + Salt)
• 5×10: Alte Bekannte (literal translation: Old Acquaintances; Diamond + Quake + Carbon + Comms + Tower)
• 5×11: Tödliche Luft (Deadly Air; C8H7CIO + Nano-Trackers + Resistance + Maldives + Mind Games)
• 5×12: Die Hochzeit (The Wedding; Royalty + Marriage + Vivaah Sanskar + Zinc + Henna)
• 5×13: 350 PS für die Mafia (350 PS for the Mafia; Barn Find + Engine Oil + La Punzonatura + Lab Rats + Tachometer)
• 5×14: Der Tod kommt langsam (Death arrives slowly; H2O + Orthophosphates + Mission City + Corrosion + Origins)
• 5×15: Gedankenkontrolle (Mind Control; Abduction + Memory + Time + Fireworks + Dispersal)

The #SaveMacGyver Movement
On July 15, they announced the MacGyver Con, a virtual event by the fans, for the fans to be held on August 28 and 29.

Tech Consultant Rhett Allain for the MacGyver Con (via SaveMacGyverHQ)

Guests announced so far are Henry Ian Cusick, Tristin Mays, Emerson Brooks (Charlie Robinson), the hosts of the “Making Fun of MacGyver” Podcast, Tech Consultant Rhett Allain, Costume Designer Sarah Downer, MacGyver-creator Lee David Zlotoff plus the Season 5 writers (Monica Macer, Mika Frank, Stephanie Hicks, Teresa Huang, Josh Brown, Alex Biskis, Andrew Klein, Andrew Karlsruher, Alessia Costantini, Curran Sullivan).

There’s also a Birthday Charity Fundraiser set up in honor of Lucas Till. All proceeds will go to Shirts Across America; a charity Lucas has worked with before.

Costume Designer Sarah Downer for the MacGyver Con (via SaveMacGyverHQ)

The official SaveMacGyver website gets updated regularly; so check here to keep up with news. For the MacGyver Convention and to buy tickets and swag bags, check here.

Other MacGyver-related News
As Deadline reported, director David Von Ancken, who also directed the Unaired MacGyver Reboot Pilot, passed away July 26 after a two-year battle with aggressive stomach cancer. He was only 56.

In other news, the German company Koch Films is still working to put a BluRay box set of the Original Show together. Original Murdoc Michael Des Barres hinted at doing an interview for the box set. There’s no release date yet.

German DVD Cover for Son of the South (via Amazon Germany)

Here’s a short overview of MacGyver-related news in recent weeks you might have missed:

• Tristin Mays’ short movie Breathe (2019) has been uploaded onto YouTube by the director.
• Starting in August, the MacGyver Reboot will be available to stream on IMDbTV (presumably US-only).
• Swiss TV channel 3+ will start airing Season 5 on August 20 (Friday, 8.15pm), followed by an episode of Season 4.
• The release date of Lucas Till’s movie Son of the South in Germany was moved from August 5 to August 26. For now, the DVD/BluRay-Release is still set for September 24. Also, the German Film and Media Assessment (FBW) awarded the movie with a seal of approval; functioning “as a cinematic pointer for today’s events and developments. To find out what has happened and to learn what must not happen anymore.”
• Upcoming DVD release dates for MacGyver Season 4 are August 4 (Japan) and August 19 (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

MacGyver Reboot Update #151

Season 5 premiered in Germany last week. Meanwhile, CBS has set premiere dates for the upcoming Fall Season.

Urban Legendz Podcast with Justin Hires and Lucas Till

(For daily news and to join the discussion, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What’s going to happen now?
Last week, pieces of the MacGyver wardrobe have been put on sale at the Atlanta Dream Center Church. All proceeds went to local non-profit. Sadly, there was no list and no official photos of the items on sale.

While this hurts the fans, it makes sense from a financial standpoint: It would be too expensive to store and/or move all props and clothes to another location. Even if the show is renewed or gets a follow-up movie, it could be months or years until they go into production; maybe using a different location. It’s still possible that they will be re-using some of the props and clothing for Dynasty, the other CBS show currently in production in Atlanta.

International Season 5 Finale Promo (via AXN Asia)

I’ve seen photos of Mailing Avenue Stageworks being used for another production, but I wasn’t able to find out yet which studio is using it.

Last Friday, CBS started airing reality shows Secret Celebrity Renovation (8pm) and Love Island (9pm). This week, CBS revealed their upcoming premiere dates for Fall Season. Interestingly, SWAT will only air 3 episodes on Fridays 8pm before being put on a 6-week-hiatus until December 3rd. Meanwhile, CBS will air reality show The Activist.

Episode 5×09: Rails + Pitons + Pulley + Pipe + Salt (via Daniel Hargrave)

While this will probably hurt the ratings for the entire Friday crime/drama line-up, it’s not the worst news for us. After all, the more the Friday schedule flops, the more CBS will miss MacGyver – and maybe reconsider not bringing it back?

What are Cast and Crew up to?
ICYMI: Justin Hires has been doing several great podcast episodes; e.g. with Meredith Eaton (uploaded on April 27), Henry Winkler (June 10), Tristin Mays (June 23), Wendy Raquel Robinson (Bozer’s mom, June 25) and Lucas Till (June 30). They’re all available on his Patreon account.

Urban Legendz Podcast with Justin Hires and Henry Winkler

Here’s a few highlights from the episodes I’ve seen so far:

• Meredith Eaton has been trying to get her own TV show made for about a year now. She wants to write a book and act in more movies.
• Tristin Mays has been taking ballet lessons again (for a potential Flashdance series) and is currently writing a cookbook. She wants to direct, to create her own production company and to create a band (playing electric guitar).
• Justin Hires has been getting offers for auditions, but mostly for the “black best friend” and for reboots – which he doesn’t feel the need to audition for.
• Lucas Till stated that he wants to do more producing (and finally directing) and that he really wants to play a bad guy.

We also got a few new photos of Lucas; e.g. while being on set of the pilot episode for The Spook Who Sat By the Door (posted by Script Supervisor Liliana Molina).

On set of The Spook Who Sat By The Door (via Liliana Molina)

Levy Tran has been working on her martial arts skills and went back to the shooting range. In a recent Instagram post, she revealed that she has been suffering from depression for about half a year. In posts meeting up with her sister and more family and friends, she looks happy. ICYMI: While the project has been listed on IMDb since 2018, it’s been officially announced that she will be the lead actress in “The Silk Road”; a film slated to be filmed next year.

Henry Ian Cusick has some convention appearances scheduled for this and next year.

Costume Fitting with Levy Tran (via Sarah Downer)

MacGyver in Germany
On July 8, Season 5 premiered on German Channel Sat.1. They aired two episodes, followed by two episodes of FBI: Most Wanted. Sadly, the ratings were lower than expected.

To Recap: On average, every episode of Season 4 had about 1.3 million viewers last year. That was less than for the other seasons, but not too bad considering the lack of promo and the episodes being available to watch online for free for a week beforehand and a month after airing. Also, MacGyver was followed by a low-rated show (Reef Break) – which was pulled after half of the episodes; replaced by other shows (e.g. Hawaii Five-0).

Episode 5×01: Resort + Desi + Riley + Window Cleaner + Witness (via Jessica Sanchez)

Episode 5×01 (Resort + Desi + Riley + Window Cleaner + Witness) had 850’000 live-viewers with a market-share of 3.1%, followed by Episode 5×02 (Thief + Painting + Auction + Viro-486 + Justice) with 890’000 live-viewers and a market-share of 3.4%.

The upcoming German Episode Titles:

• 5×03: General Ma (Eclipse + Usmc-1856707 + Step Potential + Chain Lock + Ma)
• 5×04: Gefährliche Erinnerungen (literal translation: Dangerous Memories; Banh Bao + Sterno + Drill + Burner + Mason)
• 5×05: Die Wildnis der Spiegel (The Wilderness of the Mirrors; Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO)
• 5×06: Quarantäne (Quarantine; Quarantine + N95 + Landline + Telescope + Social Distance)
• 5×07: Das Gift der Schlange (The venom of the Snake; Golden Lancehead + Venom + Pole Vault + Blood + Baggage)
• 5×08: Operation Harpyie (Operation Harpy; SOS + Hazmat + Ultrasound + Frequency + Malihini)
• 5×09: tba

The #SaveMacGyver Movement
ICYMI: The second edition of digital billboards is up; this time with a Phoenix design with billboards in LA, Baltimore, Phoenix and St. Louis. Also, MacGyver-creator Lee David Zlotoff joined the #SaveMacGyver movement.

Costume Fitting with Justin Hires (via Sarah Downer)

As mentioned before: The official website gets updated regularly; so check here to keep up with news.

Other MacGyver-related News
Here’s a short overview of MacGyver-related news in recent weeks you might have missed:

• Ex-Showrunner Peter Lenkov recently did a podcast interview for Dom’s Den; hosted by his friend Domenick Lombardozzi.
• Tristin Mays’ short movie Breathe (2019) has been uploaded onto YouTube by the director.
• Lucas Till’s movie Son of the South will premiere on August 5 in Germany. The DVD/BluRay-Release is set for September 24.
• Swiss TV channel 3+ will start airing Season 5 on August 20 (Friday, 8.15pm), followed by an episode of Season 4.

The Season 4 DVD was released in Australia and New Zealand on July 7. Here’s the DVD release dates for MacGyver Season 4 outside the US:

• August 4 (Japan)
• August 19 (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)

MacGyver Reboot Update #150

While the fans continue fighting for Season 6, German fans are waiting for the Season 5 Premiere next week.

Episode 5×03: Eclipse + USMC-1856707 + Step Potential + Chain Lock + Ma (via IMDb)

(For daily news and to join the discussion, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What’s going to happen now?
Starting next week, CBS airs the two reality shows Secret Celebrity Renovation (8pm) and Love Island (9pm); replaced by Greatest AtHome Videos (9pm) in August. It’s safe to say that there won’t be more MacGyver reruns.

While most Fall shows on the networks have already cast their leads, it’s still possible for former cast members of MacGyver to turn up as guest stars – though probably not on CBS.

International Season 5 Finale Promo (via AXN Asia)

What are Cast and Crew up to?
Justin Hires has been doing podcast episodes with Meredith Eaton (uploaded on April 27), Henry Winkler (June 10), Tristin Mays (June 23), Wendy Raquel Robinson (who played Bozer’s mom, June 25) and Lucas Till (June 30) for his Patreon account; talking about their careers and what’s next. Here’s a few highlights from the episodes I’ve seen so far:

Meredith Eaton has been trying to get her own TV show made for about a year now. She wants to write a book and act in more movies. They also revealed that the scene of Bozer wiping off his fingers on Mattys shoulder in Episode 2×19 (Benjamin Franklin + Grey Duffle) was improvised and that they couldn’t stop laughing.

Urban Legendz Podcast with Justin Hires and Meredith Eaton

Tristin Mays has been taking ballet lessons again since January (for a Flashdance series that is still in development). She also had some auditions and screentests, but doesn’t have a project lined up right now. Tristin wants to direct (preferably until the end of the year), to create her own production company and a band (playing electric guitar). Currently, she’s writing a cookbook.

In a recent Instagram post, Tristin mentioned in the comments that she will be back in Atlanta in about two weeks. Would be nice if she could meet up with some of the cast and crew.

Justin Hires has been getting offers for auditions, but mostly for the “black best friend” – which he doesn’t feel the need to audition for (since casting directors could simply watch an episode of MacGyver for that). He hasn’t said who will be next on the podcast, but he hinted at wanting to get Tate Donovan on an episode.

Urban Legendz Podcast with Justin Hires and Tristin Mays

ICYMI: Lucas Till got cast in “The Spook Who Sat by The Door” Pilot at FX; playing a CIA Agent. They filmed for 15 days; finishing on June 12. There’s no news yet if the show has been ordered to series or not. In his podcast with Justin Hires (recorded in Baltimore), he revealed that he did a chemistry read for the pilot, and didn’t have to audition for it in the traditional way.

Lucas stated that he wants to do more producing (and finally directing) and that he really wants to play a bad guy. He also revealed that after having no private life for about 5 years, he finally got back into the dating world.

Urban Legendz Podcast with Justin Hires and Lucas Till

While the project has been listed on Levy Tran’s IMDb page since 2018, it’s been officially announced on Wednesday that Levy will be the lead actress in “The Silk Road”; a film slated to be filmed next year. Although the story is set in parts of Berlin, Tokyo and Paris, it’s not clear yet if Levy will get to travel to all these locations.

The trivia on IMDb states that the Japan segment has been filmed years ago (with the page also including some photo material), so it’s not clear if this was a flashback sequence anyway or if the project was stopped for unknown reasons and these scenes will all be reshot.

Levy Tran in The Silk Road (via 55 Media)

Levy has been working on her martial arts skills; the videos indicating that she is still in Atlanta. In a recent Instagram post, she revealed that she has been suffering from depression for about half a year and that re-finding martial arts has helped her a lot.

MacGyver in Germany
On July 8, Season 5 will premiere on German Channel Sat.1. They will air two episodes back to back, starting at 8.15pm. The upcoming German Episode Titles:

• 5×01: Refugium für die Unterwelt (literal translation: Refuge for the Underworld; original title: Resort + Desi + Riley + Window Cleaner + Witness)
• 5×02: Viro-486 (Thief + Painting + Auction + Viro-486 + Justice)
• 5×03: General Ma (Eclipse + Usmc-1856707 + Step Potential + Chain Lock + Ma)
• 5×04: Gefährliche Erinnerungen (Dangerous Memories; Banh Bao + Sterno + Drill + Burner + Mason)
• 5×05: tba

While the Season 4 episodes had been paired with Hawaii Five-0, the Season 5 episodes will be followed by FBI: Most Wanted.

Episode 5×11: C8H7ClO + Nano-Trackers + Resistance + Maldives + Mind Games (via Sarah Downer)

On Tuesday, they uploaded the first Season 5 Teaser Trailer (which is the dubbed version of the original teaser trailer, but with different music) onto their website.

Like last year, German-speaking countries get the Season 4 DVD after the Season 5 Premiere – what a missed opportunity for new viewers to catch up.

A Year Post-Lenkov
It’s been almost a year since Showrunner Peter Lenkov was fired by CBS. After laying low mostly, he recently did a podcast interview for Dom’s Den; hosted by his friend Domenick Lombardozzi (who had roles in both MacGyver and Magnum PI).

Episode 2×19: Benjamin Franklin + Grey Duffle (via Meredith Eaton)

While Lenkov took the time to go to therapy to better understand himself and what went wrong, and also admitting on being a tough boss and that he could have done things better – that’s pretty much it. Stating in a half-sentence that he rewrote scripts because he didn’t have enough patience might sound trivial, but it’s not for the writers who suffered through this.

He revealed that he reached out to apologize via Lucas’ manager, but also stated that Lucas heard the body-shaming through a third person which is “what kills him the most”. The talk went pretty fast into the trajectory of how he and his family dealt with the “trauma” he went through – which is not surprising, considering the other podcast attendants were either friends or friends of the host.

Costume Fitting with Levy Tran (via Sarah Downer)

The #SaveMacGyver Movement
The #SaveMacGyver Movement is still going strong; e.g. with a worldwide Blood Drive. The second edition of digital billboards is up; with billboards in LA, Baltimore, Phoenix and St. Louis. Also, MacGyver-creator Lee David Zlotoff will be addressing the #SaveMacGyver movement today in a special announcement.

The official website gets updated regularly; so check here to keep up with news. In the meantime, fans have been creative with designing Season 6 posters, trailers, t-shirts and postcards. A lot of postcards. For “Operation Postcard”, fans from 12 different countries sent over 2000 postcards to CBS.

Phoenix Billboard (via Jamie Andrews)

Other MacGyver-related News
Here’s a short overview of MacGyver-related news in recent weeks you might have missed:

• In Italy, Season 5 premiered on June 24 on Ray4.
• Lucas Till’s movie “Son of the South” will premiere on August 5 in Germany. The DVD-Release is already set for September 24 (with the only bonus material being a trailer show).
• Former crew member Chantel Marie posted a few throwbacks about Justin Hires’ hairline.
• In June, the Reboot made Rank 15 for the “Most Popular Shows and Articles” list on SpoilerTV.

Here’s the DVD release dates for MacGyver Season 4 outside the US:

• July 7 (Australia, New Zealand)
• August 4 (Japan)
• August 19 (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)

MacGyver Reboot Update #149

While the fans continue fighting for Season 6, we got a DVD release for Season 4 and more premiere dates for Season 5 internationally.

BtS photo of The Spook who sat by the Door (via Isiah Donté Lee)

(For daily news and to join the discussion, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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What’s going to happen now?
On May 19, CBS revealed their new Fall Season schedule. The Friday 8pm slot goes to SWAT for a handful of episodes. Around midseason, SWAT will move to Sundays 10pm to replace SEAL Team (which in turn will be moved to Paramount+). The 8pm time slot will be filled with unscripted / reality shows.

International Season 5 Finale Promo (via AXN Asia)

At the moment, CBS airs two reruns of Magnum PI on Fridays, starting 8pm. Next month, the reruns will be dropped to make room for reality shows Celebrity Home Renovations (8pm) and Love Island (9pm) and Greatest AtHome Videos (9pm) in August. It’s safe to say that there won’t be anymore MacGyver reruns. Interestingly, CBS has reruns of cancelled show NCIS: New Orleans in the slot that will go to NCIS: Hawaii in Fall.

May and June are usually the months when scripts get written, edited and approved. While most Fall shows on the networks have already cast their leads, it’s still possible that former cast members of MacGyver will turn up as guest stars somewhere.

Episode 5×04: Banh Bao + Sterno + Drill + Burner + Mason (video screenshot via Levy Tran)

What are Cast and Crew up to?
ICYMI: Last month, Lucas Till’s movie “Son of the South” premiered in Australia and New Zealand. While cinemas are opening again around the world, the movie might get some more theatrical release dates before blockbusters will fill up the schedules. For example, Filmstarts lists August 5 as starting date in German theatres (probably in limited capacity). Because it already had an official theatrical release, it won’t be allowed to run in festivals like Cannes or Venice, though.

Lucas got cast in “The Spook Who Sat by The Door” Pilot at FX; playing CIA Agent Graham Renfroe. They started filming on May 24; finishing up after 15 filming days on June 12. A day later, Director of Photography Isiah Donté Lee posted the only BtS photo of Lucas in his Instagram Stories.

Australian Promo for Son of the South (via South Magazine)

We don’t know how long it will take to get the news if the show has been ordered to series or not. While some fans were unhappy about Lucas not being available for MacGyver anymore, you need to remember that it’s not clear yet if his would would be a regular or even recurring role. And even if MacGyver gets un-cancelled or revived, it might take months or years for the show to go back into production.

While Justin Hires has been doing more comedy shows, podcasts (e.g. interviews with Tristin Mays and Henry Winkler for Patreon), releasing new music and filming music videos, we don’t know much about what the others have been up to. Levy Tran has been working on her martial arts skills (including a little misshap with a sword and a wall); the instagram videos of her instructor indicating that she is still in Atlanta.

Episode 3×11: Mac + Fallout + Jack (via Sarah Downer)

In a recent Instagram post, Tristin Mays mentioned in the comments that she will be back in Atlanta in about two weeks. It’s not clear yet if she’ll just visit her home plant babies or if she’s booked for a project. Considering that there are several dozens projects being filmed in Georgia right now, it’s not unlikely that she got another job.

The Season 4 DVD
In the US, the Season 4 DVD has been released on June 8. Sadly, there’s no bonus material on it; same as with Season 3. No love was put into the DVD design, either.

DVD Menu for Disc 1 of Season 4 (US-version, via Critical Blast)

There’s DVD release dates for Season 4 in several countries:

• July 7 (Australia, New Zealand)
• August 4 (Japan)
• August 19 (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)

So far, there’s no information about potential Bonus Features on international DVD versions; but let’s hope for the best. It would be a first for the German DVD versions to not have any Extras on it.

The #SaveMacGyver Movement
The #SaveMacGyver Movement is still going strong; e.g. with “Operation Postcard” or with a worldwide Blood Drive.

BtS photo of Lucas Till on set (via Matthew Albright)

The official website gets updated regularly; so check here to keep up with news. In the meantime, fans have been creative with designing Season 6 posters, trailers or t-shirts and postcards.

Other MacGyver-related News
In recent weeks, Costume Designer Sarah Downer has uploaded several BtS photos taken during costume fittings; e.g. of Henry Ian Cusick in his kilt (for Episode 5×12) plus a mood board for Russ Taylor, of Tristin Mays in dresses (for Episode 3×11), of Lucas Till (for Episode 5×11), of George Eads alone and in comparison with Tristin Mays (in a Metallica Shirt), of Levy Tran (for Season 4), of Justin Hires (Seasons 4 and 5) and of Meredith Eaton (Seasons 4 and 5).

Costume Fitting with George Eads (via Sarah Downer)

Here’s a short overview of MacGyver-related news in recent weeks you might have missed:

• In Italy, Season 4 premiered on May 27 on Ray4. They will continue directly with Season 5 (starting next week).
• In the UK, Season 5 premiered on May 30 on Sky One.
• In the French-speaking region of Switzerland, Season 5 is currently airing on RTS.
• In Germany, Season 5 will premiere on Thursday, July 8 on Sat.1.
• No prestigious award, but like last year, the Reboot was the most popular show on SpoilerTV in May.
• CBS split the MacGyver merch store into two seperate stores for the OG show (41 items) and the Reboot (15 items). They ship internationally now.

MacGyver Reboot Update #148

While the fans continue fighting for Season 6, former cast and crew are keeping busy with new projects or spending time with friends.

New Zealand Promo for Son of the South (via Stuff Entertainment)

(Minor Spoiler Alert: You might get spoilered about Season 6 storylines and characters by reading this post and its comments or by clicking on the links provided. For daily news and to join the discussion, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)

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About the Season 6 Storylines (encore)
ICYMI: Before the Season 5 Finale on April 30, Matt Mitovich had released an interview with Showrunner Monica Macer for TV Line; talking about tweaking the finale a bit and teasing the fans that some of the nanobots might have “survived”. She also adressed potential storylines for Season 6 if the show hadn’t been cancelled – e.g. the future of Mac and Desi, Desi and her “lost” fiancé, the “hero couple” and the fun of Mac, Russ and Bozer on a treasure hunt.

A few days later, TV Line added an article revealing that Season 6 would have delivered a baby. On May 15, Mitovich posted yet another article; this time elaborating on what would have led to the first kiss between Mac and Riley.

Episode 5×12: Royalty + Marriage + Vivaah Sanskar + Zinc + Henna (via Camilla Arfwedson)

Some fans were disappointed about these storylines; stating that they didn’t want another season in that case. If you’re one of these fans, remember that these are only ideas; not approved by the network yet.

Even if a show gets renewed, it could take months or even years until it’s going into production. It could be shipped to another network, for example. Also, the two OG MacGyver movies didn’t have any ties to the OG show storyline in the Season Finale.

Episode 5×15: Abduction + Memory + Time + Fireworks + Dispersal (via Monica Macer)

Even if the show would stay on CBS, there’s no guarantee Season 6 would still have Macer as showrunner or the same writers who worked on Season 5. Some of the cast might be unavailable for filming. They might have a smaller budget; not bringing back all of the regular actors. They could do a spin-off instead of a continuation.

It’s still worth fighting for a renewal because anything can happen. And isn’t a movie or a handful of episodes for a webseries better than nothing? Lucas went through hell and fought so hard to get the cast and crew justice. Shouldn’t we at least try to give him a chance of playing the character again; no matter the storylines?

Episode 5×03: Eclipse + USMC-1856707 + Step Potential + Chain Lock + Ma (via Tristin Mays)

What’s going to happen now?
On May 19, CBS revealed their new Fall Season schedule. There’s no premiere dates yet, but our favorite slot goes to SWAT for a handful of episodes. Around midseason, SWAT will move to Sundays 10pm to replace SEAL Team, which was renewed and will premiere in Fall as well, but will be moved to Paramount+ midseason to gather new subscribers.

A bit confusing? It is. For now, CBS hasn’t announced yet which unscripted / reality show will take over the Friday 8pm slot once SWAT has been moved. I can’t imagine it does Magnum PI any favors, though.

International Season 5 Finale Promo (via AXN Asia)

Starting tonight, CBS will air two reruns of Magnum PI on Fridays 8pm before going back to one rerun at 8pm so they have room for reality show Love Island at 9pm. Usually, they put reruns of an existing show to their new slot during hiatus, but maybe CBS has other plans for SWAT in late Summer.

For now, SWAT has two reruns on Wednesdays. Considering that CBS still has reruns of cancelled shows Mom and NCIS: New Orleans on the schedule while still not having set a release date for Summer Show Blood + Treasure, it seems like they’re a bit short on Summer hiatus material after cancelling 3 drama shows in total.

Episode 3×20: No-Go + High-Voltage + Rescue (via Matthew Albright)

The #SaveMacGyver Movement
Here’s an update for the achievements of the #SaveMacGyver Movement during the last two weeks:

• The petition to renew the show for another season hit the mark of 27’000 signatures on May 7. It lost about 3000 signatures (due to the website removing signatures without verified email address). It’s currently back at about 26’800 signatures as I’m writing this post.
• A big package of 1 million paperclips have been sent to CBS Studios recently; meaning that fans sent so far about 1.45 million paperclips.
• Fans keep sending e-mails and writing letters to CBS executives and calling the CBS offices; also contacting other networks and streaming companies to pick up the series. So far, about 260’000 requests have been made to Netflix.
• The GoFundMe-Page to fund more promo (especially billboards, paperclips or press kits) is still up; standing at almost 9800 USD.
• The 5 digital billboards in Los Angeles, New York (Time Square), Phoenix and Atlanta were up until end of May. There might be more coming soon.
• The GoFundMe-Page named “Operation Cure Cancer” to collect money for cancer research is still up; standing at 1900 USD.

The official website gets updated regularly; so check here to keep up with news and learning about the movement and how to help.

Digital Billboard in Atlanta (via Samantha Hart)

What are Cast and Crew up to?
Lucas Till’s movie “Son of the South” premiered in Australia and New Zealand on May 20. There was quite a bit of promo surrounding it, but mostly with Bob Zellner. While cinemas are opening again around the world, the movie might get some more theatrical release dates before the blockbusters will fill up the schedule. In Spain, it already premiered on TV.

As Variety reported on May 28, Lucas got cast in “The Spook Who Sat by The Door” Pilot at FX; playing CIA Agent Graham Renfroe. They started filming on May 24. While I have seen some posts about a hotel set, nice cars and night shoots, there were no BtS photos of the main cast yet.

Australian Promo for Son of the South (via Heritage Films)

While some fans might be discouraged about Lucas not being available for MacGyver anymore, you need to remember that it’s just a pilot for now. His character might have limited screentime, or it’s a recurring role for a handful of episodes only. The show might not get picked up to series or his character will be dropped. Remember the Unaired MacGyver Pilot that lost the entire cast besides the two leads after being ordered to series?

In any case, Lucas needs to keep his face on screens while he’s in demand and people remember him. He needs to connect with new directors, producers and actors not associated with CBS. Also, he’s way too talented to sit at home while waiting for CBS to do the right thing.

As stated above, anything can happen. It might take months or even years for MacGyver to continue. It’s worth noting that CBS show Criminal Minds got their revival a year after cancellation. And Original CSI will be continued as CSI: Vegas this Fall (with several of the original actors) 6 years after its Series Finale.

Episode 3×11: Mac + Fallout + Jack (via Sarah Downer)

While Justin Hires has been back doing comedy shows and releasing new music, we don’t know much about what the others have been up to regarding work. Tristin Mays updated her IMDb page with more photos, but has no new project listed yet. Henry Ian Cusick is currently attached to several movies. Levy Tran has been working on her martial arts skills.

The Season 4 DVD
In the US, the release date for the Season 4 DVD has been set for June 8. Critical Blast confirmed on Twitter that there are no Extras on the US-version. They were nice enough to add a photo of the back cover; adding confirmation that no love was put into the DVD design, either.

I feel that the back cover “art” has gotten worse with every new season. Considering that almost every CBS Fall show got their former season DVD released before the new season premiered, I’m not sure why it took them so long to put this simple DVD box together.

Season 4 DVD Cover for Australia (via JB Hifi)

There’s additional release dates for countries outside the US; e.g. July 7 in Australia, August 4 in Japan and August 19 in German-speaking countries. So far, there’s no information about potential Bonus Features on international DVD versions; but let’s hope for the best.

Other MacGyver-related News
Costume Designer Sarah Downer has uploaded several BtS photos taken during costume fittings; e.g. of Henry Ian Cusick in his kilt (for Episode 5×12), of Tristin Mays (for Episode 3×11), of Lucas Till (for Episode 5×11), of George Eads or of Levy Tran.

Episode 5×12: Royalty + Marriage + Vivaah Sanskar + Zinc + Henna (via Sarah Downer)

Here’s a short overview of MacGyver-related news in recent weeks you might have missed:

• In Italy, Season 4 premiered on May 27 on Ray4.
• In the UK, Season 5 premiered on May 30 on Sky One.
• CBS added face masks as merch items to their MacGyver store. They had 56 items in total before splitting the store into two seperate stores for the OG show (41 items) and the Reboot (15 items).