Damon Wayans says that he’ll be quitting Lethal Weapon

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

It's possible that the future of the Lethal Weapon TV series may be one without its original stars. The Fox series starred Damon Wayans as Roger Murtaugh and Clayne Crawford as Martin Riggs for its first two seasons, but Crawford was ultimately fired due to his disruptive on-set behavior and replaced by Sean William Scott. Now, Damon Wayans told Electronic Urban Report in a recent interview that he'll also be leaving the series at the end of the year.

"I’m going to be quitting the show in December after we finish the initial 13," Wayans said. "So I really don’t know what they’re planning, but that’s what I’m planning. I’m a 58-year-old diabetic and I’m working 16-hour days… I’m done. Like Murtaugh said, 'I’m too old for this'" Fox renewed the series for a thirteen-episode third season, but it remains to be seen whether they'll pick up the back-nine, especially with Damon Wayans out of the picture. The actor didn't go into details, but it seems that his commitments to Lethal Weapon have been getting in the way of spending time with his family.

This has been very hard, especially last week, my mother had surgery, my daughter had surgery, and I had to look them both in the eye and say, 'I can't be there.' It’s hard for me to play this loving, supportive father, husband, and friend on TV and be the guy in life who’s telling everybody, ‘I can’t, I’ve got to work.'

Production on Lethal Weapon's thirteen episodes won't wrap up until December, which gives Fox time to find a replacement, if that's the direction they choose to go. As for Damon Wayan's plans post-Lethal Weapon, in addition to decompressing and spending some quality time with his family, he said that he's "going to return to the stage and try to find my smile again." The third season of Lethal Weapon premiered just last week.