Posted on: Friday, May 10, 2002

TV series await fate as fall lineups near

By Gary Levin
USA Today

This week, the cast and crew of "Providence" have been praying for a small miracle: a new lease on life for the 4-year-old drama, a surprise NBC hit that's starting to show signs of age.

Starting next Monday, the six broadcast networks will unveil their fall lineups in an annual New York ritual for advertisers; NBC is lukewarm on the prospects for "Providence." So, along with 21 other series still hovering "on the bubble" between renewal and cancellation, it's nail-biting time for the show's producers and fans.

"It's a little frustrating and a little scary," says Mike Farrell, who plays the veterinarian dad on "Providence." He worries about his younger co-stars, ages 4 and 12: "The kids on the show haven't been through this and don't know what to think."

The television industry's annual process of weeding out shows to make room for fall's newcomers is in full swing. It's a complex, mysterious dance that, along the way, it invariably infuriates some of TV's most passionate fans and changes the direction of Hollywood careers.

For many shows, their precarious position isn't for a lack of passion among core groups of viewers. Last week, ardent — some would say obsessive — fans of ABC's family drama "Once and Again" spent $12,000 to erect a billboard in West Hollywood in hopes of rescuing the series. But their effort is futile: A top network executive says "Once," which aired a final episode April 15, has no chance of returning.

A record 48,000 fans responded to USA Today's annual Save Our Shows poll to weigh in on their favorites, topped by NBC's "Third Watch" and "Providence," ABC's "Spin City" and CBS' "Touched by an Angel."

Some of those "bubble" series in the April poll already have learned their fate. A ratings tailspin triggered Fox to slam the gavel on lovelorn lawyer "Ally McBeal" (a hastily written finale airs May 20). Strong buzz and improved ratings of the reality dating series "The Bachelor" led ABC, already struggling from a lack of hits, to propose another limited run.

Among those series whose fate remains to be determined, fewer than half are expected to return.

Shows on the bubble often get the chance to prove their worth. Last week, several made pitches to their networks about what they'd do with a new lease on life. "Titus" promised a less "dark," more "female-friendly" show. "Greg the Bunny "wants a looser rhythm, with more improvised humor.

Those pitch meetings, says producer Victor Fresco (Fox's "Andy Richter Controls the Universe"), are aimed at "making them aware you know what the problems are on the show and that the problems are addressable." But sometimes it's too late.