‘Lethal Weapon’ Gets Order For 5 More Episodes In Season 1 From Fox

Fox has picked up five additional episodes of new drama Lethal Weapon. The move, which the network calls a full-season order, brings the series’ freshman season to 18 episodes.

Lethal Weapon has been the strongest of Fox’s new fall series, helped by its proximity to Fox’s biggest series, Empire, which follows it on Wednesday.

The debut of Lethal Weapon, a reboot of the hit movie franchise, has averaged a 3.2 Live + 7 multi-platform rating among Adults 18-49 and 12.4 million viewers to date to log Fox’s highest fall premiere in two years. It is yet to plateau after slipping from a 2.2 premiere L+SD demo rating to 2 in Week 2 and 1.7 in Week 3. The series’ fourth episode airs tonight.

Lethal Weapon delivers an explosive and wildly entertaining core relationship between two cops, with dynamic performances by Damon Wayans and Clayne Crawford, surrounded by cinematic action, endearing humor and true heart,” said Fox Entertainment president David Madden. “Matt Miller, McG, Dan Lin and Jennifer Gwartz have done a tremendous job on this show, which has proven to be a self-starter and solid companion for Empire.”

While Lethal Weapon has done OK paired with Empire, it has been a rough launch for the other new fall Fox series, Pitch behind Rosewood on Thursday and especially Exorcist on Friday though both freshman dramas have been well reviewed.

Lethal Weapon is produced by Warner Bros. Television in association with Lin Pictures and Good Session Productions. Matt Miller, Dan Lin, Jennifer Gwartz and McG executive produce. The pilot was written by Miller and directed by McG.

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