CBS is wrapping up filming its pilot of the reboot of “Magnum, P.I.” in Hawaii, but the house made famous by the 1980s television series of the same name and purchased by a friend of President Barack Obama three years ago, likely won’t be featured in the new series.
A permit was issued last week to demolish the 8,500-square-foot house in Waimanalo that was known as “Robin’s Nest” in the original series that starred Tom Selleck, along with a smaller “bath house.”
According to the permit on the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting website, the existing slabs and foundations will remain, but no word yet on what will replace it.
The main house was built in 1933 by the family of former Hawaii state Rep. Eve Anderson, who sold the three-acre oceanfront estate in March 2015 for $8.7 million to Waimanalo Paradise LLC, a Delaware entity created by Martin Nesbitt, a Chicago businessman and close friend of Obama’s, and Nesbitt’s wife, Anita Blanchard.
While the ancient turtle pond adjacent to the property is on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places, neither the main house nor the other structures on the property are on the state or national registers.
Meanwhile, CBS is getting ready to wrap up shooting the new “Magnum, P.I.” pilot, with actor Jay Hernandez taking on the role of Thomas Magnum, originated in the 1980s by Selleck, and Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins, the manager of the Robin Masters estate — which was the Waimanalo property in the original series. Hernandez, who's known for "Suicide Squad," also appeared in another Hawaii-filmed series, ABC’s “Last Resort.”
Peter Lenkov, executive producer of “Hawaii Five-0,” is also writing and producing the “Magnum” reboot, while Justin Lin, known for “Fast and the Furious 6,” is directing. The pilot's production team is using the Hawaii Film Studio, which is also used by "Hawaii Five-0."
