‘Lethal Weapon’ Return Bittersweet for Fans Who Want Clayne Crawford Back

Sunday’s renewal for a third season of Lethal Wepaon was a bittersweet moment for fans who cannot handle Clayne Crawford’s firing.

The actor, who played the character originated by Mel Gibson in the movie series, will be replaced by Seann William Scott for the upcoming season.

Late last month, word emerged that Fox was likely to cancel Lethal Weapon with Crawford on the brink of being fired because of his on-set behavior. His co-workers reportedly accused him of “creating a hostile work environment” and Crawford apologized on social media.

“I absolutely love, respect and care for my crew and cast, and would never intentionally jeopardize so many jobs,” Crawford wrote. “I an incredibly sorry if my passion for doing good work has ever made anyone feel less than comfortable on our set, or feel less than celebrated for their efforts. Furthermore, I apologize to all the crew and cast for any negative attention Lethal Weapon is receiving because of these incidents.”

Seeing as the series was on the bubble because of low ratings anyway, it was thought Fox might cancel the show instead of recasting the role. However on Sunday, Fox opted to renew the show for a third season, with Scott playing a new partner for Damon Wayans’ Roger Murtaugh character.

“We. Are. Back,” the Lethal Weapon team wrote on Twitter. “[Lethal Weapon] has been renewed for Season 3 and we’re SO EXCITED to welcome Seann William Scott to our Lethal family!”

Fans were not happy with the new casting, and some suggested the show will fail without Crawford.

“Without ratings the show will fail. Sorry Fox,” one fan wrote. “And yes, the people with the ratings boxes wont be watching. The majority has spoken and 99% of people will no longer be watching. They done f’d up.”

“That’s only good news if [Crawford] is still Riggs. No [Craword] then it’s pointless. Not that everyone else on the show wasn’t good but it was him that kept me glued,” another fan wrote.

“Good luck to the rest of the cast, I loved you all. But, without [Crawford] [it’s] not the same,” another added.

“It’s just [Fox] being [Fox]… If no [Crawford] as Riggs then you just lost a couple of loyal viewers because my wife and I will no longer watch [Lethal Weapon] without him. Quite frankly [Crawford] is the best part of the show,” another wrote.

Lethal Weapon was developed by Matt Miller and is based on the Lethal Weapon movies created by Shane Black and directed by Richard Donner. Gibson starred as Martin Riggs and Danny Glover played Roger Murtaugh in the four original films.

Photo credit: Fox