Magnum P.I. accused of being "white-washed" with too few Asian/Pacific Islanders despite Hawaii setting

Deadline

Media Action Network for Asian Americans president Rob Chan says it's offensive that a show set in a majority-Asian location doesn't have any leads who are of Asian/Pacific Islander descent. “We generally want a show to reflect the demographics it’s in," he says. "The show takes place in Hawaii, which is majority Asian, but if you look at the four stars, there’s no Asians reflected there. In fact, in the trailer, Jay Hernandez refers to four people by name, and none of them are Asian. We feel that time and time again there is a pattern of exclusion. And while some supporting cast may be Asian, they often times do not get as much screen time as the leads.” Asked to respond CBS pointed out that the cast includes two Asian-Americans, Sung Kang and Kimee Balmilero. CBS also noted that one-third of Magnum P.I.'s directors are of Asian descent, including pilot director Justin Lin.