'Lethal Weapon’ Renewed For Season 3, Taps Seann William Scott To Replace Clayne Crawford
The Lethal Weapon spinoff TV series is coming back for a third season. A familiar face will replace co-lead Clayne Crawford, reports reveal.
Great Scott
Fox renewed the action drama for another round, with none other than American Pie star Seann William Scott to take over alongside returning lead Damon Wayans.
Scott, who played Steve Stifler in the raucous teen comedies, will star in the popular cop show based on the movie franchise of the same name starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.
He is slated to play a new character, who joins forces with Roger Murtaugh (Damon Wayan) after Crawford's Martin Riggs is written out of the show. How he will leave has yet to be revealed.
Hasty Exit
Lethal Weapon fired Crawford following what executives described as repeated instances of emotional abuse of cast and crew members, which had been going on for several months and for which the actor received multiple reprimands.
Warner Bros. made the announcement in a short statement, Crawford's contract would not be renewed either. However, the studio declined to comment on the situation any further. Last fall, Andrew Kreisberg, a producer on the hit show Supergirl, got fired after several claims of sexual misconduct against him.
Although Crawford apologized on Instagram, he also blamed his behavior on unsafe working conditions.
Following the announcement that Scott would be replacing him on the show, Crawford took to the social media site again to share a message of congratulations to the cast and crew of the show.
"To my cast and crew - CONGRATULATIONS on season 3! To the Fans - Thank you for the overwhelming support and love Riggs was a dream role and the experience will live with me forever. My heart is full. Good Luck nxt season!!" he wrote.
Big Hit
Fox always planned to renew Lethal Weapon, but the decision to do so with Scott as the new co-lead versus canceling the show outright was up in the air.
Crawford was a relative unknown prior to being cast in the show, in the role played by Gibson in the film series. Scott may play the Riggs character's brother in the third season if sources are to be believed.
Lethal Weapon performs strongly both at home and abroad, thanks in most part to fans who love the original film series, which grossed millions of dollars worldwide. It makes sense that the network would rather add a new cast-member than give up on it completely.
"Seann is a fantastic addition to this already amazing cast. Lethal Weapon is packed with action, drama and pure fun and we can't wait to see Damon and Seann together on screen," said Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn on Sunday.
Lethal Weapon will be the American Pie star's first regular TV role. He was attached to NBC's The Baby, with Amy Poehler, back in 2016, but that script has yet to move forward.
