Tom Selleck helped transform the CBS series Magnum, P.I. by advocating for a more relaxed lead character instead of the network's original plan.
According to an AARP interview, CBS initially wanted Thomas Magnum portrayed as a James Bond-style character. Selleck proposed a different approach inspired by James Garner's Jim Rockford from The Rockford Files, describing a fallible and easygoing private investigator often seen in a Hawaiian shirt with a beer.