NBC, which last week was the first network to cancel one of its new shows ("Tucker"), this week became the second network to cancel one of its new shows when it dropped the ax on "Deadline."
The Monday drama about a newspaperman/crime-solver collapsed in the ratings during its four-week run. The series, which starred Oliver Platt, started strong, attracting more than 14 million viewers in its debut. But it slid far and fast, ending up with just over 6 million viewers this week.
It's one thing to trend downward. It's another to fall off a cliff.
Two days from now, NBC's jury-rigged Monday-night schedule will include another edition of "Dateline" at 7 p.m. (replacing the jettisoned "Tucker" and "Daddio," which is on indefinite hiatus) and a repeat of "Law & Order" (whose producers were also responsible for "Deadline") at 8 p.m. On Nov. 13, the network has the previously scheduled Part 2 of the biblical TV movie "In the Beginning." After that, we have no definite word.
PICKUPS: There have been no big break-out hits so far this fall, but a number of shows are doing well enough so that their networks have renewed them through the end of the season.
Not all is gloom and doom at NBC. The network has picked up "Ed," which is doing decently on Sunday nights (and doing quite well among advertiser-friendly demographics). Rumor is, however, that the show might get moved — possibly to Wednesday at 7 p.m. in place of the struggling "Titans."
(Neither "Michael Richards" nor "Cursed" has been picked up, and NBC's "DAG" has yet to premiere.)
CBS has given 22-episode, full-season orders to five new series — the sitcoms "Bette" and "Yes, Dear" and the dramas "The Fugitive" (despite disappointing ratings), "CSI" (which is doing much better than expected) and "The District" (which has been Saturday night's highest-rated show).
Conspicuous by its absence is the CBS sitcom "Welcome to New York," which has yet to receive much of a welcome from viewers.
Over at Fox, both "Dark Angel" and "Boston Public" have been picked up through the full season.
ABC has yet to pick up any of its new shows through the end of the season. The most promising (at least in terms of ratings) is "The Geena Davis Show," and it got trounced by "Frasier" when that show returned to NBC.
The alphabet network's "Gideon's Crossing" is struggling, and its sitcoms "The Trouble with Normal" and "Madigan Men" are both bombing.
The WB picked up "Nikki" for 22 episodes, but while there have been some promising signs at UPN (which did fairly well with the debuts of "Freedom" and "Level 9"), it's too early to tell if any of its new shows will work.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com