View Full Version : Magnum P.I. has no Latinx writers despite having a Latino lead


TMC
08-06-2018, 07:23 PM
https://deadline.com/2018/08/magnum-p-i-jay-hernandez-but-no-latino-writers-perdita-weeks-does-stunts-cbs-tca-1202440530/

The CBS reboot's producers were grilled at TV press tour about Latinx representation among the show's writers. Executive producer Eric Guggenheim responded that with Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, they're "not denying the fact he’s Latino. It’s something we plan to acknowledge throughout the season.” But there are no Latino or Latina writers, he said, "not for any reason other than, when staffing a show, it’s incredibly hard to find writers.” He added that "we have a very diverse writers' room." Writer Yolanda Machado, who asked the original question, tweeted her disappointment in the answer: "I asked this (because) I am so tired of all these reboots casting (people of color) but omitting how their culture affects/changes the character. I LOVE that Jay Hernandez is Magnum, but not allowing his culture to influence #MagnumPI- is a HUGE disservice. PS: 2018 & no #Latinx writers? WTF."

Magnum P.I. boss: "I made a mistake" -- we have one Latinx writer (https://deadline.com/2018/08/peter-lenkov-tweet-magnum-p-i-latinx-writer-mistake-tca-panel-1202441110/)
The CBS reboot starring Jay Hernandez came under fire (http://remezcla.com/film/cbs-tca-panel-magnum-pi/) at the TV press tour on Sunday for having a Latino star, but no writer of Latino or Latina descent, as producers revealed. But executive producer Peter Lenkov tweeted today that, in fact, there is one Latinx writer on staff. "I want to clarify a comment I made yesterday. I made a mistake. We do have a Latinx writer on the #MagnumPI staff, and she is an alumnus of the CBS Writers Mentoring Program."

TMC
08-17-2018, 01:38 AM
A Latino former Lost producer calls B.S. on Magnum P.I. boss' excuse for Latinx writer excuse (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/latino-producer-responds-magnum-pi-flap-stop-avoiding-diversity-1134562)
Javier Grillo-Marxuach, who co-created ABC Family's The Middleman, is taking Magnum P.I. executive producer Peter Lenkov to task for saying he had no Latino or Latina writer (https://deadline.com/2018/08/peter-lenkov-tweet-magnum-p-i-latinx-writer-mistake-tca-panel-1202441110/) on his Latino-led series -- then backtracking the next day to say he did have a Latinx writer. "I neither know nor have worked for this showrunner," Grillo-Marxuach writes in a Hollywood Reporter column. "This is not a demand for him to be investigated or sanctioned. All he really did — regardless of what he meant — was express a still shockingly common opinion among many showrunners: 'Inclusion' is a nuisance, minority writers are a burden to hire and promote, and experienced minority writers are nigh-impossible to find."