Exclusive: The Name of Crab Man's Dad Is Danny Glover

My Name Is Earl's Witness Protection story will involve the bad guy from Witness.

Series creator Greg Garcia tells TVGuide.com exclusively that Danny Glover has been tapped to guest-star later this season as Crab Man's dad, Thomas, as the storyline about why Darnell has been living in hiding is finally unspooled.

Although it was long ago revealed to viewers that Crab Man (Eddie Steeples) is in the Witness Protection Program, it was not until last week that Earl & Co. were let in on the secret. (After receiving a mysterious phone call on a never-seen-before "hair phone," Darnell rushed to spirit his family out of town. Alas, when the lights suddenly went out, Crab Man and fam turned up missing while Earl and Randy were left with syringes in their necks.)

In the weeks ahead, as the story arc involves Crab Man's long-lost father, Glover will play the Mel Gibson role in a variation on Lethal Weapon, versus making like mild-mannered Murtaugh.

Glover's recent TV credits include playing Sally Field's love interest on ABC's Brothers & Sisters.

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