Has "Arrested Development" been canceled?
Not yet. But, despite words to the contrary from Fox's chief programmer, the show may be on life support.
Fox announced last week that when "American Dad" (its lame new animated series) premieres on May 1, it will be at 7:30 p.m. in place of "Arrested," not 8:30 p.m. as originally scheduled.
Plus, Fox cut back its order for "Arrested" episodes this season.
But Fox Entertainment president Gail Berman has e-mailed fans of the show denying she's given the show the ax.
"While the show has finished production for its second season, contrary to the rumors you may have heard or read on the Internet, it is NOT canceled," she wrote. "We at Fox love 'Arrested Development' and we look forward to having the Bluth family back on FOX in the future — hopefully for many years.
"You can help make the show a bigger success by getting as many people as possible to start watching the show this Sunday and every Sunday. . . ."
Which, quite frankly, is disingenuous at best. It pretty much boils down to — it's not canceled yet because Fox won't announce its fall schedule until June. And if a lot more people start watching it, we'll keep it on the air.
But don't hold your breath.
Frankly, I've heard lots of similar promises from lots of network executives over the years. And Berman has made her share of vows that were never kept.
(Hey, I'm still waiting — as I have been since 2002 — for Fox to air all those unseen episode of "Pasadena" the way Berman promised.)
I won't criticize Fox if — OK, when — it does cancel "Arrested Development." Despite the plaudits of critics (including me) and the various awards, including last year's Emmy as outstanding comedy, the show has never done well in the ratings. It has remained one of those too-hip-for-the-room (or too-hip-for-its-own-good) shows.
Berman deserves credit for keeping it on the air and doing everything in her power to build an audience for the show.
It hasn't worked. It's unfortunate, but it's a fact.
Just don't send out e-mails and "sincerely" tell people something when, in all likelihood, you have no chance of keeping that promise.
IF YOU THINK I'm hard on Fox, how about "Arrested Development" co-star David Cross?
In an appearance last week on ABC's late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Cross suggested that the network replace "Arrested" with a reality show about "retards." (His word, not mine.)
"I hope Fox puts in its place, like, you know, 'America's Cutest Retards.' What's left for them to do?" he said. "We've got midgets trying to pull an elephant. . . . We've got orphans trying to figure out who their dads are. C'mon. Let's go with retards."
That's pretty harsh. And, again, even I wouldn't have phrased it quite that way.
But when you put shows like "Temptation Island," "When Animals Attack," "The Swan, " "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?" "Joe Millionaire," "The Littlest Groom," "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" and "Who's Your Daddy?" on the air, you're going to catch your share of criticism.
And the network deserves every bit of it.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com