"MacGyver" & "Magnum P.I." EP Peter Lenkov Fired by CBS
by Nellie Andreeva, Denise Petski
July 7, 2020


CBS Television Studios has parted ways with one of the top showrunners on its roster, Peter Lenkov. He has been fired from the two series he developed, executive produced and showran, CBS’ "MacGyver" and "Magnum P.I." His overall deal with the studio also has been terminated.

In light of this, "MacGyver" executive producer Monica Macer will run that series and "Magnum P.I." exec producer Eric Guggenheim will head that one.




We hear the decision came this week, following an investigation into a complaint about a toxic environment on "MacGyver".

According to sources, the investigation spanned a couple of weeks and wrapped over the July 4 holiday weekend. We hear that over his long tenure at CBS TV Studios, Lenkov had been the subject of two previous investigations into misconduct allegations.




“Peter Lenkov is no longer the executive producer overseeing MacGyver and Magnum P.I., and the Studio has ended its relationship with him,” a spokeperson for the station said in a statement.

“Our Studio is committed to ensuring safe and respectful production environments. Over the past year, we have assigned human resource production partners to every show, expanded staff training and increased reporting options. We will continue to evolve our practices with continued focus on building trust with all who work on our sets. Every complaint is taken seriously, every claim is investigated, and when evidence is clear that policies were violated and values not upheld, we take decisive action.”




“Now is the time to listen and I am listening. It’s difficult to hear that the working environment I ran was not the working environment my colleagues deserved, and for that, I am deeply sorry,” Lenkov said in a statement.

“I accept responsibility for what I am hearing and am committed to doing the work that is required to do better and be better.”

https://deadline.com/2020/07/peter-lenkov-fired-cbs-macgyver-magnum-pi-showrunner-1202979733/

"MacGyver" Star Lucas Till Says Toxic Boss Peter Lenkov made him Suicidal
by Greg Evans
July 20, 2020


"MacGyver" star Lucas Till says in a new interview that the toxic on-set environment created by former executive producer Peter M. Lenkov drove the actor to the “breaking point,” and that the first year on the show left Till feeling “suicidal.”

In a new Vanity Fair report, Till says he was subjected to bullying, verbal abuse and body-shaming by Lenkov, who was fired by CBS Television Studios earlier this month following an investigation into a complaint about a toxic environment on MacGyver.

“I’ve never worked this hard in my life, and I am fine with hard work,” Till tells Vanity Fair’s Maureen Ryan. “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.”




The magazine reports that Till told CBS’ Human Resources in writing about the body shaming.

“There was always something about my appearance that wouldn’t please him, like when I was in a hospital gown…. [Lenkov] said my legs were ‘f–king hideous’ and we can never show them again. Honestly, I found some humor in that comment as well, but you can imagine if that was a more sensitive spot that he had hit, and often did. Just like the time he screamed at [a director] ’Oh, my f–king God! Tuck his shirt in, he looks like a little f–king boy’… I’ve struggled with maintaining ‘man weight’ on the show because of the stress, no time to work out, and an unpredictable schedule for proper nourishment.”




A spokesperson for Lenkov told Vanity Fair that Till’s accusations are “100 percent false and untrue,” and that the former showrunner “championed” Till “from the very beginning and has been nothing but supportive of him.”

https://deadline.com/2020/07/lucas-till-macgyver-star-suicidal-toxic-boss-peter-lenkov-1202990136/

Lucas Till‘s MacGyver co-star Meredith Eaton tweets her support following Peter Lenkov exposé (https://tvline.com/2020/07/21/lucas-till-macgyver-body-shaming-controversy-meredith-eaton/)

Eaton was mentioned in an HR complaint Till sent to CBS that Vanity Fair quoted (https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/07/the-fall-of-a-cbs-showrunner) in its bombshell story on the fired showrunner Lenkov. “Meredith suffered an injury on set that was not dealt with properly… and had to get a hip replacement surgery and in-home care to recover fast enough to return to work the next season," Till wrote. "Peter would frantically email and call her insisting on knowing when she would be able to walk at a fast pace again.” Following the story's publication, Eaton tweeted a photo (https://twitter.com/MerEaton/status/1285399594990354433) of her and Till hugging.

MacGyver reboot creator Peter M. Lenkov reveals what he planned for the series finale before his firing (https://tvline.com/2022/01/21/macgyver-original-season-5-finale-time-jump-mac-riley-son-year-2035/)

"Was asked how I would have ended MacGyver. Here’s a few pages of the Season 5 finale I was working on prior to my exit," Lenkov wrote on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/CZA2Btpp04X/) Friday night, accompanied by images of his scripts. Lenkov was fired from MacGyver and Magnum P.I. in July 2020 after a number of workplace misconduct complaints.