Fox's Lethal Weapon had the potential to be a huge flop as a reimagining of a beloved action film franchise. Luckily for the network, the show has done well so far in both the ratings and overall viewership. It seems that the adventures of Riggs and Murtaugh don't need to be handled by Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in order to win over audiences. Now, Fox has dropped some fantastic news for fans of Lethal Weapon. The series has been given what amounts to mostly a full season order.
Lethal Weapon has officially had its episode count for Season 1 bumped up from 13 to 18, so there's still plenty of Clayne Crawford and Damon Wayans as Riggs and Murtaugh to enjoy for the foreseeable future. Technically, a full-season order is 22 episodes; still, those five extra episodes may give the show the time it needs to finish Season 1 out with a bang and set the story up for a possible Season 2. The show has been at its best so far when it goes in its own direction rather than copying what worked in the movies, and the longer order could help it distinguish itself from the film franchise even further.
It's not a huge surprise that Fox is willing to make an early order for a fuller season of Lethal Weapon. The pilot drew the highest fall ratings for a Fox series premiere since 2014, with a 3.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 12.4 million viewers across live and streaming platforms to date. In fact, it has tied with CBS' Bull as the third most popular new drama to debut this fall.
The ratings haven't remained entirely steady so far. The Live+same day numbers have been dropping in both demographic and total viewership in the weeks since the premiere. Still, it's to be expected that not everybody who checks out a series premiere will stick around for the long run, and Fox clearly has faith that Lethal Weapon has the recipe for success in its first season.
Additionally, Fox announced last year that some of the shows in its lineup actually see their ratings double over a 30-day window. While networks still rely on advertisements to make money, same day ratings just don't mean as much to the network now as they did in the days before streaming, and Video On Demand options allowed consumers to catch episodes after they air live. Lethal Weapon's early ratings only counted 7.9 million viewers and a 2.2 rating; the bump to 12.4 million and a 3.2 in the weeks since is huge.
Tune in to Fox on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET to see the latest adventures of Riggs and Murtaugh on Lethal Weapon, and check out our list of remakes and revivals to see what other franchises are coming back for another go on the small screen. Don't forget to take a look at our TV premiere schedule to find what else you can watch this fall.
