It looks like CBS is continuing to clean house, with another firing of a top executive for allegations of sexist and offensive behavior across multiple toxic sets.
Peter Lenkov, showrunner for both “Magnum P.I.” and “MacGyver” — as well as “Hawaii Five-0” — has been fired after an investigation uncovered allegations of a years-long pattern of misogynistic and demeaning behavior.
“Now is the time to listen and I am listening,” Lenkov said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
The executive producer/showrunner position for “Magnum P.I.” will be filled by Eric Guggenheim, while Monica Macer will step up for “MacGyver,” per the network. Both are currently EPs on their respective series.
“Our studio is committed to ensuring safe and respectful production environments,” the studio said in a statement. “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,” the statement continued.
According to THR sources, Lenkov was the subject of several investigations, dating back to his tenure on “Hawaii Five-0.”
“He isn’t racist or sexist or classist singularly — it’s all of it,” a source told the outlet. “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.”
Specific allegations include the notion of a “boys club” that would congregate to smoke cigars and judge women on their appearances. One story noted by Variety alleges that Lenkov shared a news article about women being a “depreciating asset” in a room of writers and expected the women to laugh about it.
“Women were definitely second-class citizens, as far as he was concerned,” a source told Variety. “I drank myself to sleep for a month because of him.”
Lenkov is the latest executive at CBS to face the consequences of alleged offensive behavior, following on the heels of “NCIS: New Orleans” showrunner Brad Kern, “60 Minutes” EP Jeff Fager, “Star Trek: Discovery” showrunners Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, “CBS This Morning” host Charlie Rose, CEO Leslie Moonves and others.
Both “Magnum P.I.” and “MacGyver” are slated to return in the fall on Friday nights. “Five-0” wrapped its ten-season run this past spring.
