MacGyver (2016 TV series)

Plot

Angus "Mac" MacGyver is an operative of a secret U.S. government organization 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."

Main

Recurring

Special guest stars

Guest starring

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.

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 CSI 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. In July 2016, Variety reported that Sandrine Holt had been cast as Patricia Thornton, an ex-field agent who is now 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.

Episodes

With the exception of the pilot, every episode is named for a tool on a Swiss Army knife.

International broadcast

Sky acquired the rights to MacGyver for UK broadcasting and the series commenced airing on Sky1 from February 8, 2017.

Critical response

MacGyver has received generally negative reviews from television critics, with many comparing it poorly to the original and some praising and criticizing CBS for making it an updated show. Variety wrote: "Lucas Till’s performance as the title character misses the mark completely; even when MacGyver explains the contraptions he builds on the fly via voiceovers, Till’s delivery is wooden and clunky. The writing doesn’t help — the pilot script is full of silly plot short-cuts and painfully cheesy lines — but there’s no getting around the fact that the new version of the character has very little appeal.... George Eads does what he can to bring a bit of energy to the MacGyver spy crew, but it’s a futile effort. MacGyver may know a lot about chemistry, but this unmemorable team has none."

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% "rotten" rating 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." Similarly, Metacritic shows 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".

Crossover

On February 3, 2017, CBS announced that MacGyver would crossover with Hawaii Five-0 in a special episode ("Flashlight") which aired on March 10, 2017. This would tie the show into a shared television universe with Hawaii Five-0, NCIS franchise and Scorpion.