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Lethal Weapon (TV series)

Lethal Weapon
Genre
Based onLethal Weapon
by Shane Black
Developed byMatt Miller
Starring
Theme music composerVo Williams
Composers
  • Josh Kramon
  • Ben Decter
  • Tree Adams
  • Robert Lydecker
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes55 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerKelly Van Horn
Production locationsLos Angeles, California
Cinematography
  • Ramsey Nickell
  • David Moxness
EditorMatt Barber
Running time42–46 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseSeptember 21, 2016 (2016-09-21) –
February 26, 2019 (2019-02-26)

Lethal Weapon is an American buddy cop action comedy-drama television series developed by Matt Miller and based on the Lethal Weapon film franchise created by Shane Black. The series served as a reboot,[1] which ran for three seasons on Fox, from September 21, 2016 to February 26, 2019.[2][3]

For its first two seasons, Lethal Weapon starred Clayne Crawford as Martin Riggs and Damon Wayans as Roger Murtaugh, mismatched detective partners who were also the main characters in the films, originally played by Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. The series also includes other characters directly or loosely inspired by characters from the films, including Leo Getz (played by Thomas Lennon), a close friend of Riggs and Murtaugh, portrayed in the films by Joe Pesci.

In May 2018, amidst reports of alleged bad behavior and incidents of hostility between cast and crew on the show's set, Crawford was fired from the show, resulting in the Martin Riggs character being killed off. Seann William Scott was hired to replace him the following season as a new character, Wesley Cole. The third season premiered on September 25.[4]

Wayans left the series following the end-of-season production in December 2018.[5]

Synopsis

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For the first two seasons, Roger Murtaugh, an aging detective with a wife and three children, is partnered with Martin Riggs, a young, unstable detective whose wife and unborn child were recently murdered. While Riggs' devil-may-care methods of collaring criminals puts his and Murtaugh's lives in danger on a regular basis, the two are able to develop a respect and form a close friendship. Following Riggs' death in season two, Murtaugh enters a six-month period of depression and during this time he meets and befriends Wesley Cole. Cole is a former CIA operative who has been everywhere and seen everything, and soon finds himself navigating a new partnership with Murtaugh, as he adjusts to life in Los Angeles.

Episodes

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SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
118September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21)March 15, 2017 (2017-03-15)
222September 26, 2017 (2017-09-26)May 8, 2018 (2018-05-08)
315September 25, 2018 (2018-09-25)February 26, 2019 (2019-02-26)

Cast and characters

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Main

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Recurring

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Production

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The series was ordered in May 2016 and premiered on Fox on September 21.[2] Fox picked up the series for a full season of 18 episodes in October.[10] A 22-episode second season premiered on September 26, 2017.[11][12][13] The series was renewed for a 13-episode third season, with Seann William Scott replacing Clayne Crawford as the series' co-lead, playing a new character.[3][14] Fox later ordered an additional two episodes for the third season, bringing the total for the season to fifteen episodes.[15] The third season premiered on September 25, 2018.

Casting

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Damon Wayans was cast as Roger Murtaugh,[16] followed by Golden Brooks as Trish Murtaugh,[17] Jordana Brewster as Dr. Maureen Cahill,[18] Kevin Rahm as Captain Avery,[19] Clayne Crawford as Martin Riggs,[20] and Chandler Kinney as Riana Murtaugh.[21] Keesha Sharp took over the role of Trish Murtaugh from Brooks.[22][23] Johnathan Fernandez was cast as Scorsese.[23][24] When the pilot was picked up to series, Johnathan Fernandez was made a series regular. Though showrunner Matt Miller had expressed interest in making Thomas Lennon a series regular as Leo Getz at some point, he remained a recurring actor throughout the three season run.

In May 2018, Crawford was dismissed from the show for on-set behavioral issues and the producers were looking to replace him for a potential third season.[25][26] Seann William Scott was cast that month as the new co-lead ahead of a third season renewal, playing a new character named Wesley Cole.[3][27]

The same year in October, Damon Wayans announced his exit from the series, following the end of production for the third season in December.[5] However, Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier stated in February 2019 that there was a strong possibility of Wayans returning if the series were to be renewed for a fourth season. Wayans had cited health problems as the reason for his departure, as he revealed that he is diabetic. After these statements, producers rearranged Wayans' shooting schedules and provided diabetic meals for him on-set.[28]

International broadcast

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In the United Kingdom, ITV started airing the series on March 3, 2017.[29] Its viewing figures remained consistent with around 2.5 million tuning in each week. Series two started on January 12, 2018. Series three started on July 26, 2019. In Australia, the Nine Network[30] premiered the series on January 29, 2017.[31] In the Philippines, it premiered on June 10, 2017 on ABS-CBN[32] and ended on September 9. Only 14 episodes were aired. In Hong Kong, the TVB Pearl premiered the series with switchable dual-language in original English and local Cantonese version on October 11, 2017. In New Zealand, it premiered on TV2 on 30 January 2017. In India, Zee Café premiered the first season on 29 September 2016.[33] In Brazil, it has appeared since September 22, 2017 on the Warner Channel Brasil and on the Free-to-air TV on Rede Globo. In Canada, the series is on Netflix with new seasons arriving each September.[34] In Greece, Star Channel started airing the series but after the conclusion of Season 2 on February 2, 2019 plans for broadcasting the final season have yet to be announced to this day[when?] by the network. In Bulgaria BTV (Bulgaria) started airing the series on August 1, 2019.

Ireland's RTE ran series 1 and 2 scheduled a few weeks after the US premiere of each episode. As of April 2021, they are still yet to first-run air any episodes in season 3.

Home media

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DVD & Blu-ray
Title Release date Additional
Region 1/A[35] Region 2/B[36] Region 4/B[37]
The Complete First Season September 19, 2017 September 25, 2017 September 20, 2017
Features


Set Details:

  • 4-disc DVD (all regions)
  • 3-disc Blu-ray (all regions)
  • 791 minutes
  • 1.78:1 aspect ratio
  • Audio:
    • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (DVD)
    • English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Blu-ray)
    • German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (Blu-ray)
    • French: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Blu-ray)
    • Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Blu-ray)
  • Subtitles:
    • English SDH (see additional subtitle options as they vary on different regions)

Special features:

  • Extended Pilot (Uncensored)
  • All-New Featurette: "Reloading Lethal Weapon"
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Gag Reel

Rating:

The Complete Second Season September 18, 2018 October 1, 2018 TBA
Features


Set Details

  • 1.78:1 aspect ratio
  • Audio:
    • TBA
  • Subtitles:
    • TBA

Special features:

  • TBA

Ratings:

  • TBA
The Complete Third Season September 17, 2019 TBA TBA
Features


Set Details

  • 1.78:1 aspect ratio
  • Audio:
    • TBA
  • Subtitles:
    • TBA

Special features:

  • TBA

Ratings:

  • TBA

Reception

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Critical reception

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Lethal Weapon received mixed reviews from critics. For the first season, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported a 67% approval rating, with an average rating of 5.35/10 based on 42 reviews. The consensus says, "Lethal Weapon's overly polished production values and tired narrative are somewhat overcome by solid chemistry between its two leads".[38] On Metacritic, the first season has a weighted average of 56 out of 100 based on 24 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[39]

The second season received positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave a rating of 100% with an average rating of 10/10 based on 5 reviews.[40]

For the third season, 100% of Rotten Tomatoes' 5 critic reviews were positive, with an average score of 10/10.[41]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an average score of 89%.[42]

Ratings

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Viewership and ratings per season of Lethal Weapon
Season Timeslot (ET) Episodes First aired Last aired TV season Viewership
rank
Avg. viewers
(millions)
18–49
rank
Avg. 18–49
rating
Date Viewers
(millions)
Date Viewers
(millions)
1 Wednesday 8:00 pm 18 September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21) 7.93[43] March 15, 2017 (2017-03-15) 6.02[44] 2016–17 35 8.63 TBD 2.2/8[45]
2 Tuesday 8:00 pm 22 September 26, 2017 (2017-09-26) 4.37[46] May 8, 2018 (2018-05-08) 3.15[47] 2017–18 90 5.38 TBD 1.3[48]
3 Tuesday 9:00 pm (1–9)
Tuesday 8:00 pm (10–15)
15 September 25, 2018 (2018-09-25) 3.43[49] February 26, 2019 (2019-02-26) 3.06[50] 2018–19 78 5.40 TBD 1.2[51]

Accolades

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Year Awards Category Recipient Result Ref.
2017 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series Keesha Sharp Nominated [52]
Teen Choice Awards Choice Action TV Show Lethal Weapon Nominated [53]
Choice Action TV Actor Clayne Crawford Nominated
Choice Action TV Actress Jordana Brewster Nominated
2018 Teen Choice Awards Choice Action TV Show Lethal Weapon Nominated [54]
Choice Action TV Actor Damon Wayans Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lynette Rice (October 2, 2015). "Lethal Weapon TV series reboot in the works at Fox". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 10, 2016). "'The Exorcist', 'Lethal Weapon', 'Making History', 'Pitch', 'The Mick' & 'APB' Get Fox Series Orders". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Ausiello, Michael (May 13, 2018). "Lethal Weapon: Seann William Scott Replaces Clayne Crawford, Clearing the Way for Season 3 Renewal at Fox". TVLine. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  4. ^ Harnick, Chris (June 28, 2018). "Fox Reveals 2018 Fall TV Premiere Dates: Find Out When 9-1-1, Last Man Standing and More Return". Eonline. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Holloway, Daniel (October 3, 2018). "Damon Wayans Announces 'Lethal Weapon' Exit". Variety. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 28, 2018). "Lethal Weapon': Seann William Scott's Character Details Revealed; Maggie Lawson Cast As His Ex On Fox Series". Deadline Hollywood.
  7. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (26 October 2018). "'Lethal Weapon': Mykelti Williamson To Recur On Season 3 Of Fox Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  8. ^ "Lethal Weapon Just Cast a Female Version of Riggs, Apparently | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  9. ^ "'Lethal Weapon' Casts Nishi Munshi; 'Charmed' Adds Aleyse Shannon". Deadline Hollywood. September 13, 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  10. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 12, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Gets Order For 5 More Episodes In Season 1 From Fox". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 22, 2017). "'Lethal Weapon' Renewed For Season 2 By Fox". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  12. ^ Holloway, Daniel (June 22, 2017). "Fox Sets Fall Premiere Dates, Including 'Empire', 'The Gifted', 'The Orville'". Variety. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  13. ^ Stanhope, Kate (February 22, 2017). "Fox's 'Lethal Weapon' Renewed for Season 2". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 14, 2018). "'Lethal Weapon' Season 3 Renewal After Casting Shakeup Comes With Caveat – A Shorter Order". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  15. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 12, 2018). "'Lethal Weapon' Gets 2 More Episodes At Fox With Damon Wayans Set To Appear". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 12, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Pilot Ordered By Fox; Damon Wayans Starring, McG Directing". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 19, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Pilot: Golden Brooks Cast". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 3, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Pilot: Jordana Brewster To Co-Star". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  19. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 7, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon': Kevin Rahm To Co-Star In Fox Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  20. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 10, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon': Clayne Crawford To Star As Mel Gibson's Martin Riggs In Fox Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  21. ^ Petski, Denise (March 15, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Casts Chandler Kinney; Sarayu Blue Joins 'No Tomorrow'". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  22. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 17, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Fox Pilot: Keesha Sharp Set For Co-Starring Role In Recasting". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  23. ^ a b Obenson, Tambay A. (March 17, 2016). "Keesha Sharp Replaces Golden Brooks in 'Lethal Weapon' Pilot + Johnathan Fernandez Joins Cast". Indiewire. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 24, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  24. ^ Petski, Denise (March 17, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Pilot Casts Johnathan Fernandez; Tommy Savas In 'The Fluffy Shop'". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  25. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (May 8, 2017). "'Lethal Weapon' Star Clayne Crawford Out as Producers Scramble to Recast". The Hollywood Reporter.
  26. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (23 April 2018). "'Lethal Weapon's Fox Renewal On The Line Over Co-Lead Clayne Crawford's Behavior".
  27. ^ "Damon Wayans Claims Clayne Crawford Injured Him on Set & 'Hit' Another 'Actor in the Mouth'".
  28. ^ Ausiello, Michael (February 6, 2019). "Lethal Weapon: Fox Boss Addresses Damon Wayans Exit Buzz". TVline.com. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  29. ^ "'ITV locks up Lethal Weapon acquisition". July 4, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  30. ^ "Lethal Weapon Season 1". 9Now. Nine Entertainment Co. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  31. ^ "Airdate: Lethal Weapon". TV Tonight. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  32. ^ "Lethal Weapon on ABS-CBN". ABS-CBN Entertainment. YouTube. May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  33. ^ "Zee Cafe to premier 5 new shows". exchange4media. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  34. ^ Kasey Moore (October 30, 2018). "Are Seasons 1–3 of 'Lethal Weapon' on Netflix?".
  35. ^ Region 1 DVD/Region A Blu-ray releases:
  36. ^ Region 2 DVD/Region B (UK) Blu-ray releases:
  37. ^ Region 4 DVD/Region B (AU) Blu-ray releases:
  38. ^ "Lethal Weapon: Season 1 (2016–2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  39. ^ "Lethal Weapon (2016): Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  40. ^ "Lethal Weapon: Season 2 (2017-2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  41. ^ "Lethal Weapon: Season 3 (2018-2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  42. ^ "Lethal Weapon: Tv Series (2016–2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  43. ^ Porter, Rick (September 22, 2016). "Wednesday final ratings: 'Empire' adjusts up, 'Designated Survivor' adjusts down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  44. ^ Porter, Rick (March 17, 2017). "'The 100' adjusts down: Wednesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  45. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (May 26, 2017). "Final 2016–17 TV Rankings: 'Sunday Night Football' Winning Streak Continues". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  46. ^ Porter, Rick (September 27, 2017). "'Bull', 'Voice', 'This Is Us' adjust up, 'L&O True Crime' and 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' down: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  47. ^ Porter, Rick (May 9, 2018). "'The Voice' and 'Chicago Med' adjust up, 'Bull' adjusts down: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  48. ^ "2017–18 TV Series Ratings Rankings: NFL Football, 'Big Bang' Top Charts". Deadline Hollywood. May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  49. ^ Welch, Alex (September 26, 2018). "'This is Us' and 'The Voice' adjust up, 'New Amsterdam' adjusts down: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  50. ^ Welch, Alex (February 27, 2019). "'FBI' adjusts up, 'The Gifted' adjusts down: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  51. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (21 May 2019). "2018-19 TV Season Ratings: CBS Wraps 11th Season At No. 1 In Total Viewers, NBC Tops Demo; 'Big Bang Theory' Most Watched Series". Deadline. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  52. ^ Washington, Arlene; Lewis, Hilary (10 February 2017). "Hidden Figures, Loving, and Queen of Katwe nominated". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  53. ^ Vulpo, Mike (14 August 2017). "Teen Choice Awards 2017 Winners: The Complete List". E! News. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  54. ^ Douglas, Esme. "Teen Choice Awards 2018: See the full list of winners". EW. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
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