Lethal Weapon: Seann William Scott Replaces Clayne Crawford, Clearing the Way for Season 3 Renewal at Fox
Fox’s Lethal Weapon has pulled the trigger on hiring a new co-lead, tapping American Pie‘s Seann William Scott to replace fired star Clayne Crawford, TVLine has learned. With Scott — who will be playing a new character (possibly Riggs’ brother) — in place, Fox has renewed Lethal Weapon for a third season. Additionally, Warner Bros. confirms in a statement that it has officially “decided not to renew” Crawford’s contract.
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The recasting caps a tumultuous two weeks for Fox’s sophomore drama that began with an explosive Deadline report that detailed Crawford’s alleged bad behavior on the show’s set. The Rectify alum later released a statement in which he elaborated on the two incidents that led Warner Bros. to reprimand him. In one of the kerfuffles, an actor — allegedly co-lead Damon Wayans — “felt unsafe because a piece of shrapnel from an effect hit him,” Crawford explained. “It was an unfortunate event that happened in spite of all precautions and procedures being followed. I take responsibility for the incident, because I was in charge of the set.” He concluded by issuing an apology to “all the crew and cast for any negative attention Lethal Weapon is receiving because of these incidents.”
And then last week, TVLine broke the news that Warner Bros and Fox had decided to part ways with Crawford, and were actively searching for an actor to replace him. A studio source tells TVLine that the decision to fire Crawford was not made lightly, but was nonetheless necessary due to the actor’s pattern of abusive behavior on the Lethal set.
“Seann is a fantastic addition to this already amazing cast,” said Michael Thorn, Fox’s president of entertainment. “Lethal Weapon is packed with action, drama and pure fun and we can’t wait to see Damon and Seann together on screen.”
In Lethal Weapon‘s season finale, Crawford’s Riggs was shot (presumably, now, to death) in the episode’s final seconds.
Crawford responded to the show’s renewal — and his dismissal — on social media late Sunday:
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