MacGyver (2016 TV series)

MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series developed by Peter M. Lenkov that ran on CBS from September 23, 2016 to April 30, 2021, comprising five seasons and 94 episodes. The series stars Lucas Till as Angus "Mac" MacGyver, an undercover government agent who prefers to fight crime with ingenious feats of engineering rather than lethal force. It is a reboot of the ABC series of the same name created by Lee David Zlotoff, which aired from 1985 to 1992. In May 2020, CBS renewed the series for a fifth season which premiered on December 4, 2020.
In April 2021, CBS announced that the fifth season would be the series' final season. The series finale aired on April 30, 2021.
"MacGyver" takes place in the same fictional universe as two other series, both also developed by Lenkov and both also reboots of earlier police shows: "Hawaii Five-0" and "Magnum P.I." The three shows have been collectively referred to as the "Lenkov-verse".
Plot.
Angus "Mac" MacGyver is an operative of a secret U.S. government organization (cloaked as a think tank) where he uses his extraordinary talent for problem solving and his extensive knowledge of science to save lives. "With skills that are only limited by his creativity, Mac saves the day using paper clips instead of pistols, birthday candles instead of bombs, and gum instead of guns."
The episodes make frequent use of second-person narrative in the form of voice-overs provided by Lucas Till as Angus MacGyver. The commentary usually provides instructions or "tricks of the trade", as if for a training or orientation film.
Production.
Development.
In October 2015, the original series' executive producer, Henry Winkler, signed on to produce a remake series with James Wan and R. Scott Gemmill for CBS, which owns the rights to "MacGyver" through its acquisition of the original Paramount Television. In February 2016, it was announced that CBS had greenlit production of a pilot episode written by Paul Downs Colaizzo and directed by Wan. Wan pulled out from directing due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by David Von Ancken.
In May 2016, the network picked up the series. Co-creator and executive producer Peter M. Lenkov will serve as the showrunner. On May 18, 2016, CBS released a first video trailer for new series. In June 2016, the network scrapped the original pilot, with Wan to direct a new pilot episode. On June 21, 2016, that the series would premiere on Friday, September 23, 2016.
On October 17, 2016, CBS ordered a full season of 21 episodes. On March 23, 2017, CBS renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on September 29, 2017. On May 9, 2019, it was announced that CBS renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on February 7, 2020. On November 6, 2019, it was announced that CBS had ordered an additional nine episodes in this fourth season, which would've brought the total to 22 episodes. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, this total was reduced to 20 episodes, with six additional episodes being completely filmed before the production halt. However, producers and CBS later chose to conclude the season with the final episode of the CODEX story arc, which was scripted to fit within the original 13 episode order. This decision came after MacGyver was renewed for a fifth season on May 6, 2020, allowing the final six episodes filmed for season 4 to be moved to season 5. The fifth season premiered on December 4, 2020.
Casting.
In March 2016, Lucas Till was announced as the new MacGyver, Joshua Boone as Gunner, MacGyver's best friend from high school, alongside with former and longtime "" star George Eads as Jack Dalton, who was originally named Lincoln, a man who could easily be written off as an eccentric conspiracy theorist but is a legitimate government employee with great capability for compassion. Later cast were Addison Timlin as Mickey, an app developer who is aggressively progressive in her political views but who has a soft spot for MacGyver, and Michelle Krusiec as Agent Croix, Dalton's sister who works for the Department of Homeland Security. However, the original pilot with this casting was scrapped by CBS in June 2016—a new pilot episode was ordered with only Till and Eads from the original cast continuing on to the revised version of the show.
Around the same time the new pilot was ordered, Justin Hires was cast as Wilt Bozer, MacGyver's roommate who is an aspiring filmmaker. In July 2016, "Variety" reported that Sandrine Holt had been cast as Patricia Thornton, an ex-field agent who was the director of operations for the Department of External Services, and that Tristin Mays was cast as Riley Davis, a highly unpredictable computer hacker with a chip on her shoulder.
On November 26, 2018, it was announced that George Eads was set to depart the series midway through the show's third season. According to creator Peter M. Lenkov, Eads had asked to be released from his contract for some time so he could spend more time with his young daughter who resides in Los Angeles; the series is filmed in Atlanta. Producers ultimately agreed with Eads being written out of the show but left the opportunity for him to return as a guest star in the future. His final episode aired on February 1, 2019. Eads' character was killed offscreen in the fifth season episode "Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO", ruling out any further opportunities for Eads to reprise the role.
Lenkov's firing.
On July 7, 2020, it was reported that Lenkov was fired from his role as executive producer and showrunner following an investigation into allegations that he created a toxic work environment. Lucas Till later told "Vanity Fair" about being verbally abused and body shamed by Lenkov, stating, "I’ve never worked this hard in my life, and I am fine with hard work. But the way Peter treats people is just unacceptable. I was suicidal that first year on the show, because of the way he made me feel. But the way he’s treated the people around me — that’s just my breaking point." Executive producer Monica Macer replaced Lenkov as showrunner.
Cancellation.
On April 7, 2021, with only three season 5 episodes remaining, CBS made the surprise announcement that the fifth season would be the show's last, setting the series finale for April 30, 2021. Viewers and longtime fans of the show were left unhappy, particularly by CBS's lack of response over the reason for cancellation. The season 5 ratings for "MacGyver" have been relatively high for its Friday 8PM/7PM CT time slot, with averages of 0.5 demo and 4.8 million viewers. CBS did note that, of its 14 scripted dramas airing in the 2020–21 season, "MacGyver" ranked ninth in the 18–49 demo and tenth in overall viewership, but did not cite this as a reason for cancellation.
Series regular Justin Hires thanked CBS for "employing me for 6 years" in a Twitter post following the cancellation, but then got in a possible dig, adding "We're still #1 in our time slot." While confirming Hires' claim, author Jessica Rawden of Cinema Blend noted that "MacGyver" had seen a drop in viewers since George Eads exited in season 3.
Since the announcement of the cancellation, fans have come together from around the world trending on Twitter with #SaveMacGyver, with over 250,000 tweets in the first week alone. Many projects have been put in motion to show support for the MacGyver cast, crew and writers including: a petition to bring the show back from cancellation with more than 20,000 signatures in 18 days, raising money for digital billboards in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta and Times Square, New York City, a charity fundraiser called Operation Cure Cancer with funds raised going directly to Cancer Research Institute. Fans sent more than 1.36 million paperclips to CBS Studios and Kelly Kahl, currently serving President of CBS.
Book.
The Official MacGyver Survival Manual: 155 Ways to Save the Day is a book that gives instructions on how to "MacGyver" things as seen in "MacGyver". The book was written by Dr. Rhett Allain, the show's resident physicist. The foreword was written by Peter M. Lenkov, and the introduction was written by Lucas Till. "The Official MacGyver Survival Manual: 155 Ways to Save the Day" was released on September 17, 2019.
Reception.
Critical response.
"MacGyver" has received generally a mixed opinion from television critics, with many comparing it poorly to the original and some praising and criticizing CBS for making it an updated show.
"USA Today" wrote: "If... you’re looking for something approaching the original’s simple DIY charms—or, for that matter, something even marginally original—look elsewhere. What you're getting here is a factory-made retread that is less "MacGyver" than "MacGyver: Impossible", with the title character now just one member of an impossible mission team... MacGyver may not fully engage you, but at least it won't actively annoy you."
IGN's verdict was: "CBS' "MacGyver" is an unnecessary, middling reboot that has little to offer—its biggest sin being a bland hero and eye-rolling stakes. Lifting more than a few swerves from the Mission Impossible franchise, this new "MacGyver" somehow even manages to make the science gimmick dull."
Rotten Tomatoes shows a 25% rating for Season 1, with the sites critical consensus reading, "Despite using spare parts from countless successful TV procedurals, the new "MacGyver" fails to cobble together a compelling show." Metacritic gives a score of 38 out of 100, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Movie Pilot was more positive, commending Till's performance while noting that the show does a good job of "maintaining the essence of the original while appealing to a modern generation".
The general public lean all the same towards positive opinions, convinced that the series is on the voice of improvement like "Variety"s statement that Lucas Till's performance is wooden and clunky, is centered on a stupid hope for a continuance of the old MacGyver. That however, would be equal to deny any actor making his own interpretation of a new role. Lucas Till is not Richard Dean Anderson. It is an updated show, but some of the changes actually makes the new episodes better and more vivid. The family-ensemble sense is growing."
"Irish Film Critic" stated being satisfied with the reboot " Season 1 introduced us to the new characters and while it took some getting used to, after years of watching Richard Dean Anderson doing his thing, about halfway through season 1, I was finally able to accept Lucas Till as the new "MacGyver". He is charming, charismatic, and when it calls for it, courageous, at times, putting his own life over that of everyone around him. The chemistry between the entire main cast is obvious and everyone has their own individual idiosyncrasies and character traits but never is it more evident than when they’re all together. Over time, they have become a family as a result of their trials, tribulations, and missions and usually with the closing of each episode, they rendezvous at Mac and Bozer’s place in the "Hollywood Hills", share a laugh, have a beer, and generally, try to keep a positive outlook on what is to come.
Exactly what a family is supposed to do."
Home media.
The first season was released on DVD in region 1 on February 27 and second season on September 18, 2018.