Earlier this month, Fox's Lethal Weapon became the network's latest casualty when the powers-that-be announced that the show had been cancelled and would not be returning for season four.
Fox CEO Charlie Collier discussed (via Deadline) the "series of tough choices we have to make this time a year".
"In the quest to be number one, you have to make tough choices, and Lethal Weapon was unfortunately on the other side (of the bubble)," he added.
It was recently reported that the cop comedy-drama series, based on Shane Black's film franchise, had experienced a drop in ratings. 6.5 million viewers were tuning in per episode during the first season, but that then fell to an average of 4 million in season two, before dropping further during the last chapter to just over 3 million.
While the season three viewer numbers weren't catastrophic, clearly the show was experiencing a drop-off – a worry for networks – and it's likely that would have continued given the recent major casting changes, which weren't well received by fans.
Deadline was told that Clayne Crawford, who played former Navy SEAL-turned-police officer Martin Riggs, had "a history of bad behaviour on the show" and had been "disciplined several times over complaints of emotional abuse and creating a hostile environment".
"I hear the issue has escalated to a point where other actors as well as crew on Lethal Weapon would feel uncomfortable being on set with him," they continued.
Variety also reported speaking anonymously to 31 people about problems behind the scenes, as well as obtaining two separate recordings, one of which features Crawford and his former co-star Damon Wayans engaged in a foul-mouthed dispute, and the other in which Crawford can be heard losing his temper off-camera.
Variety also reported that production was brought to a halt on numerous occasions, "splitting the crew into factions", and security guards were "on set at all times" to make sure that physical altercations didn't break out.
Crawford responded to the myriad headlines circling about his behaviour with a post on Instagram, in which he admitted being reprimanded twice because he "reacted with anger over working conditions that did not feel safe or conducive to good work".
But despite hoping that they would "stick" with him, Crawford was fired after a two-season run back in May 2018. Riggs was killed off, shot in a graveyard by his half-brother Garrett to prevent any future return, and Seann William Scott was drafted in as a new character (rather than a direct replacement), taking on the role of ex-CIA agent Wesley Cole.
Keesha Sharp, who played Trish Murtaugh, told Digital Spy exclusively that following Crawford's firing, the show was initially axed.
"The show was cancelled. I got a phone call," she said. "The show was cancelled after they were going to release him for reasons that they felt were justified in terms of behaviour they didn't want to continue to deal with.
"And so, for them to make that decision, it wasn't easy. We had a number-one show, and it was hard for the Lethal Weapon family to deal with it, and especially not wanting to talk about it in public and hurt anybody."
Then back in October last year, Wayans announced that he intended to leave the show after season three had wrapped up production.
"I'm a 58-year-old diabetic and I'm working 16-hour days," he told EUR.
Essentially, he was knackered. But at a TCA Winter Press Tour, show creator Matt Miller revealed (via Cinema Blend) that Wayans' announcement was "a cry for help", and he went into detail about the changes that were put in place to create a comfortable working environment.
"We worked on some hours and ways to fix his schedule a little bit and ways to maybe change some storyline things around that could accommodate him," he said.
"Since that time, it has been an absolute delight making the show."
Wayans agreed to shoot two extra episodes for season three, which brought the total to 15, and Miller was very hopeful that he would return for a fourth season of the show, although it's unclear whether he would have played such a central role had it gone ahead.
Fox CEO Charlie Collier was asked, following news of the official cancellation announced almost two weeks ago, if the saga behind the scenes was to blame for the decision, but he simply said that the network is driven by "the commitment to try to keep growing and invest in the future".
That might come as a surprise considering he previously told TVLine that he felt the show had "really hit its stride well" in the third season.
But whatever the real reasons are, unless someone else snaps it up, Lethal Weapon is officially dead and buried.
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