‘Hawaii Five-0,’ ‘Magnum P.I.’ producer fired by CBS

Peter Lenkov dismissed for creating a 'toxic work environment'

Peter Lenkov, the TV producer behind highly successful reboots of “Hawaii Five-0,” “Magnum P.I.” and “MacGyver,” has been fired by CBS for creating what the network describes as a “toxic work environment.”

“Peter Lenkov is no longer the executive producer overseeing ‘MacGyver’ and ‘Magnum P.I.,’ and the studio has ended its relationship with him,” a CBS TV Studios spokesperson said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday.

The statement went on to say, “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.”

Lenkov was dismissed with year remaining on a lucrative deal with CBS TV Studios, which produces “MacGyver” and “Magnum P.I.” The show that launched his run with CBS — “Hawaii Five-0” — ended earlier this year after 10 seasons.

In a statement of his own to THR, Lenkov took an apologetic tone.

“Now is the time to listen and I am listening,” he said. “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. I accept responsibility for what I am hearing and am committed to doing the work that is required to do better and be better.”

Sources told THR that Lenkov had been the subject of at least three complaints alleging that he was “manipulative and abusive” during his time overseeing “Hawaii Five-0” and “MacGyver.” He allegedly had a “boys club” that included favored male employees who regularly gathered, smoked cigars and inappropriately judged the appearance of women in Hawaii.

Others allege that he accommodated special work-schedule requests from male actors without offering similar consideration to actresses on “Hawaii Five-0.” The series, a reboot of the iconic procedural, concluded its run in April.

“It was a hard place to be a woman on that set,” one source said of the former “Five-0” set on Oahu.

Behind the scenes, sources told THR that Lenkov would routinely talk down to writers — particularly women and people of color. In one incident, he allegedly mocked a disabled fan and, after a writer objected to his behavior, attempted to have her fired.

“He isn’t racist or sexist or classist singularly — it’s all of it,” says an insider. “He’s anti-woman, anti-POC, anti-gay, and everything you’d expect. But he’d also torture straight white men if he felt like it.”

Variety reported similar complaints, writing that multiple sources said Lenkov was “known to be misogynistic and to make crude jokes on set.”

The first public hint of trouble on the “Hawaii Five-0” set came in the summer of 2017 when original series stars Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park stunningly walked away from the show after seven seasons in a contract dispute. Both had asked for salary parity with co-stars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan, but were not granted it.

Lenkov, in some ways, has been an odd television success story. He was never the kind of creative auteur who molded a highly original, groundbreaking and/or critically acclaimed series. But he had a knack for regurgitating successful shows from the past and tailoring them for an older CBS audience. “Hawaii Five-0,” for example, was a slicker take on the island crime series that ran from 1968 to ’80 on CBS.

Lenkov is the latest producer or executive at CBS to be terminated in recent years due to allegations of misconduct. The most high-profile exit came in 2018 when CEO Leslie Moonves left after The New Yorker published multiple allegations of harassment and abuse by the top executive.

Other ignominious departures included “NCIS: New Orleans” producer Brad Kern, “60 Minutes” executive producer Jeff Fager and “CBS This Morning” host Charlie Rose who, in 2017, was accused of sexual harassment.