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2 • December 3 - 9, 2017 • Brainerd Dispatch By Kyla Brewer TV Media T hese days, the television land- scape is peppered with all sorts of shows, but drama and comedy are still the meat and potatoes of prime time. Many series attempt to mix the two genres, but few of them do it with the ease of Fox's "Lethal Weapon." Damon Wayans ("In Living Col- or") and Clayne Crawford ("Recti- fy") star as Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs, respectively, in the sec- ond season of "Lethal Weapon," air- ing Tuesday, Dec. 5, on Fox. Based on the popular film series from the '80s and '90s, the show follows L.A. cops assigned to a crime-ridden beat. The original "Lethal Weapon" franchise brought the buddy mov- ie formula to a whole new level, and Fox's TV version offers fans the same mix of action, drama and humor. When the TV version pre- miered last September, Wayans and Crawford quickly won over viewers with their chemistry and earned the show an early season 2 renewal. Fox executive David Madden had high praise for the series when the early renewal was announced in February. "'Lethal Weapon' continues to fire on all cylinders," Madden said. "Every week, it delivers a big fun roller-coaster ride, but also re- mains touchingly human and gen- uinely emotional." While there were plenty of nay- sayers who doubted that the tele- vision reboot of the films could recreate the action-packed fun of the original, which starred Mel Gibson ("Braveheart," 1995) and Danny Glover ("The Color Purple" 1985) as Riggs and Murtaugh, Fox's "Lethal Weapon" has held its own. That is in large part due to the aforementioned chemistry be- tween Wayans and Crawford. As Murtaugh, Wayans is the proverbial straight man to Craw- ford's loose cannon as Riggs. A husband and father of three, Mur- taugh recently returned to the force after a heart attack, only to find himself paired with out-of- control new hire Riggs. With every- thing to live for, Murtaugh found himself struggling to rein in his self-destructive partner lest he put them both at risk. On the flipside, Crawford's Riggs lives a very different lifestyle with his trailer on the beach and 1977 Ford F-350. The antithesis of his partner, former Navy SEAL Riggs has a blatant disregard for safety as he pursues criminals. His destructive tendencies seem to stem from the loss of his wife and unborn child in El Paso, Texas. It's typical buddy comedy fod- der, but Crawford and Wayans manage to keep the show from slipping into cliché with their chemistry, which has been almost universally praised by critics. Their connection may be, in part, due to the fact that Crawford grew up watching Wayans in his ground- breaking sketch comedy series "In Living Color." In an interview with collider.com, the actor claimed the show was at least partially respon- sible for his sense of humor: "For me, everything those guys wrote made me laugh out loud," Craw- ford said. Unlike a lot of recent television reboots, the "Lethal Weapon" TV series has remained fairly faithful to the original, at least when it comes to the key players. Keesha Sharp ("Girlfriends") stars as Mur- taugh's wife, Trish, a lawyer. In the "Lethal Weapon" film series, the character was played by singer Darlene Love. Murtaugh's two teenage children also play promi- nently in the TV series. Riana Mur- taugh, known as Rianne (Traci Wolf, "In the Heat of the Night") in the film series, is now played by Chandler Kinney ("Girl Meets World"). Roger Jr., named Nick (Damon Hines, "Chicago Hope") in the movies, is now portrayed by Dante Brown ("Mr. Robinson"). "Mad Men" alumnus Kevin Rahm takes on the role of Capt. Brooks Avery, which was based on the character of Capt. Ed Murphy (Steve Kahan, "Conspiracy Theo- ry," 1997) in the film franchise. Jordana Brewster ("The Fast and the Furious," 2001) appears as po- lice department psychologist Dr. Maureen Cahill, a character based on the movies' Dr. Stephanie Woods, a role originated by Mary Ellen Trainor ("The Goonies," 1985). Fox's television series has also added medical examiner and fo- rensics technician Scorsese (Johnathan Fernandez, "Bull"), and Det. Sonya Bailey (Michelle Mitchenor, "Chi-Raq," 2015). The recurring cast includes Thomas Lennon ("The Odd Cou- ple") as ambulance-chasing attor- ney Leo Getz, Hilarie Burton ("One Tree Hill") as DEA Agent Karen Palmer, and Richard Cabral ("American Crime") as Det. Ale- jandro Cruz. Season 2 welcomes Michelle Hurd ("Law and Order: Special Victims Unit") as Gina San- tos, and Andrew Creer ("Barracu- da") as young cop Zach Bowman. All of these characters come to- gether to entertain audiences in the second season, which finds Murtaugh navigating rough wa- ters at home, while also trying to steer Riggs away from his demons. For all of his growth last season, Riggs is still a wild spirit. While ratings have taken a dip so far this season, averaging about four million live viewers per episode compared to more than eight million last season, "Lethal Weapon" is still faring well in the grand scheme of prime-time tele- vision. Recent talk of a possible re- boot of the film franchise could raise the show's profile even more. That's right, Gibson and Glover may reunite on the big screen in a new "Lethal Weapon," or so rumor has it. In October, deadline.com re- ported that the actors and director Richard Donner ("Superman," 1978) had been considering a new film version. With plans for a new movie still up in the air, fans of the series can get their weekly dose of "Lethal Weapon" Tuesday, Dec. 5, on Fox. A worthy reboot: Action, drama and comedy abound in 'Lethal Weapon' Cover Story this week Damon Wayans stars in "Lethal Weapon" Conan A couple ordered a package from Amazon — this is a true story — and included with their stuff was 65 pounds of marijuana. It was only then that the couple realized that they'd accidentally signed up for "Amazon Primo." Last Friday, Dr. Phil hit a skateboarder with his car. Dr. Phil was overheard yelling, "Quick, somebody, get a real doctor!" The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon Developers are working on a Hyperloop that could get you from Washington, D.C., to New York City in just 29 minutes. And once you're here, you can take a subway from Penn Station to Times Square in just four hours. I heard that people in Hawaii are stealing cans of Spam and reselling them. So if you think you're having a rough day, imagine being the guy waiting on the corner for his Spam dealer. The Late Show With James Corden Snoop Dogg has taken aim at the president once again in his new single called "Make America Crip Again." A representative of Snoop explained that with "Make America Crip Again," Snoop's intention is to, quote, "unite, not divide." Because what organization could be more unifying than the South Central L.A. street gang, the Crips. Jimmy Kimmel Live According to the latest Fox News poll, President Trump has a 38 per cent approval rating — and only six per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. Turns out, bringing the country to the brink of nuclear war while golfing every day isn't playing as well with the voters as he'd hoped. Late Night With Seth Meyers A new study has found that a person's brain is still active for about 20 seconds after death, and a person may be aware that they have died. This according to a eulogy that had really gone off the rails. In an interview with The New York Times, President Trump repeated the claim that he is not under investigation. And then he winked so hard he got a black eye. Weekend Update With Colin Jost and Michael Che MTV has launched a spinoff of its hit "Jersey Shore" series set on the coast of Alabama and Florida, called "Floribama Shore." Where the cast members can contract Gonormydia. 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