Back in October, we learned that FOX was rebooting Lethal Weapon as a TV series, and the response was pretty much a unanimous "No FOX! Bad FOX!" with a hint of "But why?" Today, FOX has ordered the reboot series to pilot with Damon Wayans Sr. set to star and McG on board to direct. No FOX. Bad FOX.

Based on the 1987 film starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as the odd-couple pair of LAPD Detective Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, the Lethal Weapon pilot is written by Forever creator Matt Miller as what Deadline describes as a "relatively straight remake featuring the movie's central characters." Wayans will follow in Glover's footsteps as Detective Murtaugh, an officer recovering from a recent heart attack who must avoid stress in his life – a feat made all but impossible when he's partnered with Sgt. Riggs – a volatile ex-Special Forces soldier devastated by after the death of his wife who is reassigned to homicide after a psychotic episode on the job. Casting is still underway for the role originated by Gibson.

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Image via Warner Bros.

I try very hard not to be a negative nancy about upcoming projects sight-unseen, but this is so hard to buy into. Without the electricity of Shane Black's script, Richard Donner's direction, and the insane chemistry between Gibson and Glover, all that's left is a pretty generic buddy cop procedural. But again, given that the pilot hasn't even rolled into production yet, I'm going to hold out hope that this might be a pleasant surprise.


Lethal Weapon is the latest in the movie-to-TV series remake crazy, which has been running strong for a few years. While certain properties like Bates Motel and Ash vs Evil Dead have lent themselves to serialized reimaginings, other shows including and FOX's own Minority Report have missed the mark. All the same, the trend shows no signs of slowing down with some recent additions including pilots for Training Day at CBS and Frequency at The CW (who is also developing adaptations of Friday the 13< and The Notebook), as well as the straight-to-series order for Taken at NBC.

What do you guys think of this development? Can you see Wayans in the role? Who would be a good Riggs? Still asking yourself why this is a thing? Sounds off in the comments below.

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Image via Warner Bros.