Lethal Weapon: Who's starring and what to expect as action-packed TV series premieres on ITV

Based on the films of the same name by Shane Black, Lethal Weapon has just landed on UK television screens for its first-ever series.

The action-based drama – which Fox has just renewed for a second season – will premiere on ITV at 9pm tonight (3 March).

The buddy-cop franchise famous for Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in the lead roles is now being reinvented beyond the 1980s wonder and modernised for the 21<sup>st century.

It is not too serious or grown-up, however, as it is flashy, action-packed and entertaining with two great leads. Clayne Crawford fills Gibson's boots as the unhinged maverick that is Martin Riggs, while Damon Wayans is his reluctant partner, Roger Murtaugh, who is back at work after suffering a heart attack.

We will see the characters bond and clash, as Riggs' penchant for diving headfirst into the line of fire does not bode well with Murtaugh's more restrained, by-the-book standards. His reckless attitude to the job, and life in general, also makes Riggs a priority case for the department's psychologist.

Directed by McG, the series is all blazing big guns, muscle cars and explosions, and the perfect answer to a lazy Friday night in with a pizza.

Oscar-winner actor Casey Affleck's girlfriend, Floriana Lima, makes an ephemeral appearance in the series as Miranda Riggs, Detective Riggs' wife. The first episode opens with her dying and we see him shift from blissful married life in Texas to living in the infamous trailer on the edge of a cliff in LA.

The drama continues with a bank robbery, introducing Riggs as the loose cannon when he walks straight into a hostage situation with a load of delivery pizzas to talk to the bad guys.

The episode then moves on to a case of a Navy Seal's apparent suicide – but being a former Navy Seal himself – Riggs realises something is amiss and convinces a circumspect Murtaugh to investigate further. High-speed car chases, fist fights, gun fights and explosive scenes soon follow.

Lethal Weapon airs at 9pm tonight on ITV.