While TV viewership may be in a general decline across the board, thanks to the endless amount of programming choices to choose from, it's still possible to measure a show's success. In fact, Fox's small screen remake of the classic action film franchise Lethal Weapon has been quite the pulse-pounding hit for the network, which has responded with some extremely positive news: Lethal Weapon has been renewed for Season 2. Let's celebrate by drinking Murtaugh's most expensive bottle of alcohol without telling him.
Not only a boon to Fox's in-house ratings success in the 2016-2017 season, Lethal Weapon has done well enough to secure a spot as one of the top new TV shows of the year. When it comes to nightly viewership, it's hard to find a more consistent TV show out there. Lethal Weapon premiered to 7.9 million viewers back in September, and the weekly numbers have yet to dip below 6 million, which is about as small an audience drop-off as a show can aim for. There's no mystery behind Fox wanting to keep a steady win like that around for a while longer, especially since things are just as leveled when it comes to the key 18-49 adults demographic.
Again, that's just on the nights that the episodes are airing. Lethal Weapon has also been a smash for Fox when it comes to delayed viewing through DVR and On Demand services. Its total viewership soars above 11 million once all those other numbers have been tallied, so there will definitely be some happy people waiting to hear about Riggs and Murtaugh's futures.
Hitting a TV landscape rife with remakes and revivals, Lethal Weapon could have easily been as much of a flop as Uncle Buck or Rush Hour, but co-stars Damon Wayans Sr. and Clayne Crawford are charismatic and energetic enough to make this must-watch primetime for millions of people. And then once you add all the explosive stunts and intense gunfights, it gets harder to understand why more television re-imaginings aren't able to do similarly enjoyable things.
Fox has been crushing in all genres recently. With Lethal Weapon covering the action drama angle with 24: Legacy, the network has fellow freshman series The Mick, which was also recently renewed, taking over the comedy side of things. Then there's Lucifer (also renewed) on the darker comic side and Empire on the soapy chaos side. Perhaps that last one isn't a genre exactly, but since we can't just make Cookie Lyons her own label, it'll have to work.
Lethal Weapon airs Wednesday nights on Fox, with tonight's episode kicking off the final three Season 1 installments. Check out a hilarious story recent guest star Thomas Lennon shared with CinemaBlend about his time on the show, and then head to our midseason premiere schedule to see what else is coming to your TVs in the coming weeks.
