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3 Lbs.—We Hardly Knew Ya

Stanley TucciTaking a page from the book of cancelling Smith, CBS has decided to axe yet another high profile drama. The medical drama 3 Lbs., starred Stanley Tucci, and aired for just three episodes. Variety reports that the network has not officially canceled the show, but most are speculating that with the show on hiatus, it’s not likely to come back. CBS executives have made no plans to produce additional episodes, although eight were already filmed. Ratings ruled the decision, as viewership dropped each week that the show aired and drew 16% less young adults than the previously canceled Smith. Both Smith and 3 Lbs. aired during the 10:00 PM timeslot on Tuesdays. Previous CBS losers for that time and day have included Love Monkey and Tuesday Night Book Club. Seems Tuesdays at 10 are the “kiss of death” timeslot for CBS.

Read More | ComingSoon.net

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Fox puts Vanished to Bed; Orders More Standoff and ‘Til Death

'Til Death Fox has made some big programming decisions this week. First, two new shows, Standoff and ‘Til Death, have gotten an additional order of episodes. Surprising, considering that neither show is much of a ratings winner. Standoff gets six additional episodes, while ‘Til Death has been given the “back-nine” order, meaning it will continue for the rest of the season. There is speculation that the network is running out of new shows to keep on the air, so they are hanging on to these, even if they fail to perform. Standoff, which stars Ron Livingston in the world of hostage negotiators, averages about 9.8 million viewers each Tuesday night; with a drop to just 5 million viewers when the network changed timeslots to 8:00 p.m. ‘Til Death is only grabbing about 6.4 million viewers each week.

The other big news is that Vanished has been cancelled. With poor ratings of just 6.5 million viewers (and 7.45 million when it followed Prison Break), it was clear this one wouldn’t go the distance.

Read More | Zap2it

Justice Gets Yanked From Fox Lineup

JusticeIt’s been speculated for quite some time that Fox’s drama Justice would be cancelled. With ratings never quite making the grade and a shift in date/time, the series just never quite took off. In case you’re not familiar with the show, Justice starred Victor Garber and was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. So, it seemed like greatness in the making. But then, so did Smith and you know what happened there. It seemed Fox at least tried to give Justice a fighting chance by moving it from Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. to Mondays at 9:00 p.m. (following Prison Break). Only 5.9 million viewers tuned in last week, with only about half of the Prison Break lead-in audience hanging on to watch Justice.

Read More | CNN

Studio 60 Gets the Full Order

Studio 60Seems NBC is taking pity on the ratings-impaired series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. While the show hasn’t been living up to expectations in terms of viewership, the network has extended the show for the full season. Time will tell if the show gains momentum—and numbers. It’s hard to believe that it could see an increase in ratings, since most people who jumped ship on the series are unlikely to dive back in if they’ve missed a number of episodes. NBC Entertainment chief Kevin Reilly said of the full season order, “I am pleased to show our support for this outstanding and ambitious effort from executive producers Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme. From the start, they have delivered the superb show that we wanted. The critical support has been rock-solid and there is a passionate core audience. We can’t wait for what’s going to come in the remainder of the season.” The show had seemed to be in jeopardy of cancellation, but somehow dodged the bullet. While the show started strong with 13 million viewers, it has dropped to about 8 million per episode. The show does, however, draw the highest concentration of folks with incomes of $75,000 or more.

Read More | Zap2it

Happy Hour and Twenty Good Years Cancelled

Happy Hour Two sitcoms on the “critical” list, nearing cancellation, have officially been given the axe. Fox’s Happy Hour has been removed from the schedule due to low ratings. The comedy has ranked fifth for viewers 18-to-49 during its timeslot on Thursdays. The ailing ‘Til Death is still on the roster.

NBC’s Twenty Good Years has also been moved off of the schedule—you may recall a couple of weeks back when NBC announced their new Thursday night line up with nary a mention of the fate of Twenty Good Years. The sitcom aired on Wednesdays along with 30 Rock—with 30 Rock making an upcoming move to Thursday nights on November 16th. Twenty Good Years has been yanked and a two-hour episode of The Biggest Loser will air in its place on November 8th (from 8 - 10 p.m.).

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‘Kidnapped’ Latest TV Casualty

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, NBC, The CW, Cancellations, Ratings,

Jeremy SistoKidnapped seemed ill-fated when NBC switched it from Wednesday to Saturday nights—the proverbial “kiss of death.” Well, the series has been kissed, and it’s now officially dead. NBC has removed the show from the schedule permanently. Good news for fans, however—NBC will air the eight remaining episodes on NBC.com. I saw a commercial for Kidnapped the other day, and it’s a surprise that it didn’t take off—with stars like Jeremy Sisto, Delroy Lindo, Dana Delany and Timothy Hutton, there was plenty of star power. The original timeslot averaged under 7 million viewers per week; the move to Saturday proved lethal, with numbers dropping to 4 million. So far, we’ve seen the passing of CBS’ Smith and The CW’s Runaway. Twenty Good Years will reportedly get the axe as well, since it will be leaving the air in a couple of weeks. Warner Bros. TV, however, says the show is still in production.

Read More | Zap2it

Runaway Suffers Latest Cancellation

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, UPN, WB, Cancellations, Ratings,

RunawayThe axe just keeps falling—the latest casualty is the CW’s drama Runaway. With only four episodes aired, this new series barely got off the ground to provide itself. This is the one about a family on the run, when dad (Donnie Wahlberg) is accused of murder. Of course, it’s all just a misunderstanding, as he is really innocent. The series aired Mondays at 9:00 p.m., then CW moved Runaway to Sunday, but the move didn’t make any impact on ratings. CW will fill the slot with repeats until another replacement is announced. As you recall, CW came about when UPN and WB combined. Runaway was only one of two series from the newborn network. The other was the comedy The Game.

Read More | CNN

Happy Hour and ‘Til Death—Still Kickin’?

'Til DeathIn a surprise move, Fox has requested additional scripts of Happy Hour and ‘Til Death—two new sitcoms seemingly perched on the edge of cancellation. The ratings indicate that both of these freshman series are in jeopardy of the axe, but the network is willing to give them some more opportunities to make ‘em laugh. Media reports are saying that Fox wants three more scripts from each—and we’ll see where things go from there. Both shows air Thursday nights, with ‘Til Death averaging about 6.9 million viewers. Happy Hour averaged under 5.6 million viewers in its three airings. Both went on hiatus because of baseball games on Fox, while ‘Til Death took additional time off when Brad Garrett put the brakes on production because of the quality of the scripts.

Read More | Zap2it

CBS Drama ‘Smith’ Canceled

Ray Liotta Now that the fall schedule is in full swing, one thing is certain—there will be casualties. Smith, the much-hyped CBS drama with big headliners Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen, is the first show to be officially canceled. The show, which aired on Tuesday nights, followed Liotta as the leader of a bunch of thieves. CBS said on Friday that the show is now off the schedule and will be replaced by reruns of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Criminal Minds. The word ‘cancel’ never was uttered, but the show’s producers give no guarantee that the show will come back. The viewership was so-so, with Nielsen Media Research reporting only 8.4 million viewers. The competition was tough too—up against Law & Order: SVU and Boston Legal.

Read More | Yahoo! News

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