Friday was a day of housecleaning for frosh shows on the bubble.
ABC decided against back-nine pickups for dramas Sony Pictures TV’s “Last Resort” and Warner Bros. TV’s “666 Park Avenue,” while CBS canceled Monday comedy “Partners,” from Warner Bros. TV.
The ABC dramas will remain on the air for the remainder of their 13-episode orders. “Partners,” created and exec produced by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, will be off the air as of this week, with reruns filling its 8:30 p.m. hammock slot between “How I Met Your Mother” and “2 Broke Girls.”
The Eye has a lot invested in turning “2 Broke Girls” into the anchor of its Monday comedy block, but the weak “Partners” lead-in had become a drag on the show.
ABC’s quick hook for “Last Resort” surprised industry observers given its pedigree: creators-exec producers Shawn Ryan and Karl Gajdusek are behind the actioner about a renegade nuclear submarine crew. The show, toplined by Andre Braugher, had an uphill battle in the Thursday 8 p.m. slot, and it was an expensive production. However, as of the weekend, ABC had not formally released the show to the studio nor had it released its options on the actors, indicating that it may want to revisit the possibility of more episodes down the road.
“666 Park,” a spooky mystery ensembler starring Terry O’Quinn, Vanessa Williams, Rachael Taylor and Dave Annable, has had little traction in the Sunday 10 p.m. slot behind sudser “Revenge.”
