BetUS Entertainment Props – Which TV Series gets the Axe?

I guess the writers' strike threw a lot of things out of whack. But the fact is, they just don't make TV shows (off cable) like they used to. There aren't many legitimate hits out there among the new crop of shows. And some have been given the axe already, most recently ABC's "Pushing Daisies," "Eli Stone" and "Dirty Sexy Money," along with NBC's "Lipstick Jungle."

Today's proposition isn't necessarily which show will be next, but which among the following list will be the first to go

And so, BetUS Sportsbook asks....

Which will be the first show canceled?

Chuck 5/1

Knight Rider 3/1

Life 4/1

Fringe 7/1

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 5/1

The Mentalist 13/2

Private Practice 5/1

When a show is a hit, it does not get taken off the air. Thus, you can cross off "The Mentalist" as a possibility. The CBS show (13/2 in BetUS odds), which stars Simon Baker, was at #7 in the latest Nielsen ratings. It's been in the top five a couple of times and has produced an average audience of 16 million viewers. "Fringe," the supernatural-type show from Fox (7/1 in BetUS odds), is here to stay as well - at least for the time being. The network is not going to throw this show out the window, not with a $10 million budget for the pilot and J.J. Abrams behind it. It's attracting a loyal audience that has moved beyond that which can be called a cult, and has progressed to become one of Fox's top five rated programs.

"Private Practice" (5/1 at BetUS), which is the spin-off of "Grey's Anatomy," has pretty consistently been in the 5-6 range for a rating, with an 8-9 share. They're releasing DVD's. This show will survive. NBC moved "Life" (4/1 at BetUS) to Wednesday, which means it liked the show and wanted to see if it could respond in another time slot. Indeed, Life increased its viewership in the 18-49 demographic an impressive 20% after the move.

When you talk about some of the others, "Chuck" (5/1 in BetUS odds) is a show which at least has some critical appeal, and it's quite possible that NBC will give it every opportunity to succeed, especially since it gained 9% in viewership from one week to the next, scoring its biggest audience of the season on November 17. This show is rather popular with a younger demographic, although it was down for its November 24 episode. It has been running against "Dancing With The Stars."

Fox will be keeping a close eye on "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (5/1 at BetUS). The show was the highest-rated new scripted show of the 2007-08 season, and there were high hopes. But it has taken a dip, and not really come back. The program had 5.19 million viewers for its November 10 episode, and 5.31 million last week. There are plans to move the show to Friday nights at 8 PM in February, as it leads in the new "Dollhouse." There is a fair amount of skepticism about how either of those shows will do.

"Knight Rider" (3/1 at BetUS) looks to me like the goner. The NBC Saturday night show is a remake to begin with. That works sometimes in the movies, unless it's something like "The Heartbreak Kid." But in TV? Don't think so. "Knight Rider" lost its Saturday time slot this past week with miles to spare, registering just 2.91 million viewers, with a .7 rating and a 2 share. Last time out it lost in the 18-49 demo to ABC's "Pushing Daisies," which has already been cancelled. In fact, it could be gone by the time I finish typing this.

Just kidding.

But only a little.

(Charles Jay of http://www.ebookies.com is a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room, and hopes he doesn't get cancelled anytime soon)