Fox gives 'Hour' time off
Net bumps fourth-place laffer
|
More Articles:
Most Viewed:
'New Moon' crosses $200 million(4891 views)Invictus(2127 views)The costs of Hollywood spending(1759 views)Hollywood sea of change(1502 views)Pearce hops on to 'Hungry Rabbit Jumps'(677 views) |
That's the question of the moment in TV circles as the town waits to see which new show will get the honor of being the first one canceled. One contender emerged Monday: Fox's "Happy Hour."
Net has decided to bump this week's planned broadcast of the three-week-old laffer -- but says that doesn't mean time's up for "Hour."
"No shows have been canceled," a Fox rep said.
"Hour" has been losing a big chunk of its "'Til Death" lead-in, and last week it finished fourth in its 8:30 p.m. Thursday slot.
Fox will replace "Hour" with an extra episode of "'Til Death." Latter skein has also notched disappointing ratings the past two weeks, though that didn't stop Fox's adjective-happy promo department from labeling the Brad Garrett starrer a "smash hit" last week.
Industry observers believe that Fox will be patient with "Death," as well as with the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced "Justice." Many believe the net may move both shows to new timeslots once coverage of the baseball playoffs wraps in late October, or perhaps in January, when "American Idol" returns.
As it is, Fox is already spreading "Death" around its sked. In addition to the extra Thursday airing, skein is set to air two Sunday episodes, at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. Net has also opted to shrink Friday's finale of "Celebrity Duets" to an hour in order to sub a repeat of "Justice" at 8 p.m.
Latter skein will be preempted on Oct. 4 in order to avoid facing off against the third season premiere of "Lost."
Meanwhile, "Death" and another new Fox skein, "Standoff," are taking some unscheduled hiatuses.
"Standoff" will take about 10 days off in order to catch up with the writing of the scripts and to add Tim Minear ("Angel") as a consulting producer. Minear's pilot "Drive" is a midseason contender at Fox.
Craig Silverstein is still exec producing and acting as showrunner for "Standoff," and the studio said the hiatus won't impact the show's ability to deliver episodes on time. After tonight's episode, "Standoff" is set to return Oct. 31, following Fox's coverage of post-season baseball.
As for "Death," because the show is ahead of schedule, producers decided to turn next week's planned one-week break into a two-week rest.
