"I quit Magnum, not because I didn't like it or I was tired of it. I was tired from it," Tom Selleck said.
Catching up with old friends is always fun. Tom Selleck, 78, who stars as New York Police Commissioner and family patriarch Frank Reagan on Blue Bloods — will share the screen again with his former Magnum P. I. costar Larry Manetti on an upcoming episode of the beloved CBS family drama series.
Selleck's Blue Bloods co-star, Donnie Wahlberg, announced the exciting news in an Instagram post on February 27, and he also shared a group snap of the cast, as per Good Morning America.
In the picture, Selleck, 78, and Manetti, 75, are seen smiling while sitting next to each other, surrounded by the other cast members of Blue Bloods, including Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Andrew Terraciano, Will Estes and Vanessa Ray.
"#MagnumMonday! It's a mini Magnum PI reunion, on the set of #BlueBloods this week, with guest star Larry Manetti & Tom Selleck — together again," Wahlberg, 53, wrote in the caption. "Wishing the late greats Roger E Mosley & John Hillerman could be here, too. 🙏🏼❤️🕊️ #Legends #MagnumPI #BlueBloods #Family."
Mosley, who played Theodore "T.C." Calvin in the iconic show, passed away in August 2022 at age 83. Whereas, Hillerman, who portrayed the character of Jonathan Quayle Higgins III died in November 2017 at age 84.
The upcoming episode will be the first onscreen reunion for the duo, who starred alongside one another on the CBS popular crime drama that ran for eight seasons from December 1980 to May 1988.
The original Magnum P.I. centered on the story of a Hawaii-based private investigator, Thomas Magnum. In the crime series, Manetti, 75, starred as Orville "Rick" Wright, while Selleck played the titular role of private investigator Thomas Magnum. Manetti also made an appearance in the 2018 Magnum P.I. reboot series as Nicky "The Kid" Demarco, a crossover character from the rebooted Hawaii Five-0 series, which ended in 2020.
Selleck currently plays the role of New York Police Commissioner and family patriarch Frank Reagan in Blue Bloods. According to Entertainment Tonight, Manetti plays "a retired cop [who] holds a young man at gunpoint who sold his grandson fentanyl-laced pills" in an upcoming episode of the show.
As for his personal life, Selleck has chosen a quieter route for himself. "I knew intellectually what it would mean in terms of being a public person, but until you've lived it, there's no way to understand it," he explained to PEOPLE. "I had a feeling of, 'I don't think I'm cut out for this.'"
He continued, "I quit Magnum, not because I didn't like it or I was tired of it. I was tired from it. And I wanted a three-dimensional life because I didn't have one."
After he returned to acting only a few years later, he shared that he doesn't believe "there is an endpoint" for his current CBS series, which is currently on its 13th season. "I think there is a lot of life in the show, as long as you let your characters grow and get older," he said.
Selleck continued, "There is an evolution. It started out as a character-driven show, and it's even more than that now. When you get to a point like this, and we certainly had it on [Magnum P.I.], the audience is really inside the main character's head."
References:
https://people.com/tv/tom-selleck-welcomes-magnum-pi-costar-larry-manetti-blue-bloods-reunion/
Cover Image Source: (L) Getty Images/Staff; (R) Instagram | donniewahlberg