Murder In A Small Town Boss Previews Malcolm-Jamal Warner's 'Magical' Final On-Screen Performance — Watch Exclusive Sneak Peek

Tuesday's episode of Murder in a Small Town (Fox, 8/7c) will feature Malcom-Jamal Warner's final on-screen performance, which series creator Ian Weir tells TVLine is nothing short of "magical."

The Cosby Show alum, who was 54 when he died while swimming off the coast of Costa Rica during a family vacation in July, filmed a guest appearance for Season 2 of the Fox drama before his passing.

In Episode 3, Warner plays Richard Bannister, a protective father who becomes a lead suspect in a murder investigation when his ex-wife is killed just after returning to town. Still heartbroken years after the split, Richard wears his anger and pain on his sleeve, but his only goal in life is to keep his daughter safe. 

Weir says working with Warner was "absolutely lovely," and describes him as an actor "who totally left his ego at the door and just went to work in a wonderfully collaborative way." He adds that having Warner on set was "really quite magical" for many of the cast and crew who "felt they'd grown up with him because of The Cosby Show."

"I was thrilled, of course, when he agreed to do the role," Weir continues. "I hadn't quite let myself dare hope that someone of his stature would take this particular role, just because it wasn't conceived as one of those big flashy guest star roles."

Instead, Weir describes the character as requiring "quiet, intense integrity," which he says the "extraordinary" Warner delivered: "He became the emotional heart of the episode in quite a magical way."

Press PLAY on the clip above to watch a sneak peek of Warner's time in Gibsons, then hit the comments with your thoughts.