The first season of the action-adventure series MacGyver premiered on September 23, 2016, on CBS, for the 2016–17 American television season. The series centers on the fictional Phoenix Foundation which is a covert organization masquerading as a think tank. The series stars Lucas Till, George Eads, Tristin Mays, and Justin Hires. Sandrine Holt was also cast in the series but departed in the twelfth episode, "Screwdriver". Meredith Eaton replaced Holt, Eaton debuted in the thirteenth episode, "Large Blade," and began receiving main billing in the eighteenth episode, "Flashlight". CBS announced the series on October 1, 2015. It was ordered to series on May 13, 2016, and received a full season order of twenty-two episodes on October 17, 2016. Only twenty-one episodes were produced when the season concluded on April 14, 2017. The season contained a fictional crossover with Hawaii Five-0 which occurred in episode eighteen.
The first season ranked number 27 for the 2016–17 television season, had an average of 9.8 million viewers, and received mostly negative reviews. "The Rising", the series premiere, brought in the most viewers for the season with 10.9 million; meanwhile, the season finale, "Cigar Cutter" brought in 6.57 million. The series was renewed for a second season on March 23, 2017, which later premiered on September 29.
Cast and characters
Main
Lucas Till as Angus "Mac" MacGyver
George Eads as Jack Dalton
Sandrine Holt as Patricia Thorton
Tristin Mays as Riley Davis
Justin Hires as Wilt Bozer
Meredith Eaton as Matilda "Matty" Webber
Recurring
Tracy Spiridakos as Nikki Carpenter
Guest
Daniel Dae Kim as Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly: Crossover character from Hawaii Five-0. A member of the Five-0 Task Force. Grace Park as Officer Kono Kalakaua: Crossover character from Hawaii Five-0. A member of the Five-0 Task Force. Taylor Wily as Kamekona Tupuola: Crossover character from Hawaii Five-0. An entrepreneur and confidential informant for the Five-0 Task Force.
Episodes
The number in the "No. overall" column refers to the episode's number within the overall series, whereas the number in the "No. in season" column refers to the episode's number within this particular season. The titles of each episode, with the exception of the pilot, are named after a tool on MacGyver's Swiss Army knife. "U.S. viewers (millions)" refers to the number of viewers in the U.S. in millions who watched the episode as it was aired.
Crossover
The fifteenth episode of the season, "Magnifying Glass", placed the series in the same fictional universe as Hawaii Five-0 when the fictional Five-0 Task Force and multiple characters were mentioned. The eighteenth episode, "Flashlight" featured guest appearances by Hawaii Five-0 actors Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, and Taylor Wily as Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly, Officer Kono Kalakaua, and Kamekona Tupuola, respectively. The Phoenix Foundation was subsequently mentioned in the Hawaii Five-0 seventh season episode "Puka 'Ana" which aired immediately following "Flashlight".