WASHINGTON — After nearly 25 years off the screen, the ingenious problem-solver MacGyver could be returning to television.
CBS has ordered a pilot episode of “a re-imagining,” as The Hollywood Reporter says it’s described, of the series that ran from 1985 to 1992. The original show starred Richard Dean Anderson as a secret agent whose trademark ability to fix problems and escape dangerous situations by repurposing everyday objects led to the use of “MacGyver” as a word to describe resourcefulness.
There’s no word on who will fill the title role in the new version, but The Hollywood Reporter says that Henry Winkler, one of the executive producers of the original series, will take the same role in the reboot.
The Hollywood Reporter adds that CBS has also ordered a pilot of a drama based on the early career of Dr. Phil, when he was head of a trial consulting service. Phil McGraw will cowrite the script for the pilot; he, his son and his production company will be among the executive producers.
