Posted on: Sunday, October 17, 2004

TV series 'Hawaii' bumped off the air

Advertiser Staff and News Services

In a move that spells trouble for one of the TV series currently filming on O'ahu, NBC has pulled "Hawaii" from its broadcast schedule, moving another series into the 7 p.m. Wednesday time slot.

"We're not going to be on the air until further notice," said Kristin Jackson, a Honolulu publicist for "Hawaii." "We have aired the last episode at this point, until we've heard further from NBC."

Location filming continues on the series while an initial batch of episodes promised to NBC are completed.

" 'Hawaii,' previously broadcast on Wednesdays, will continue in production in Hawai'i and will return at a later date with new episodes," said NBC Entertainment publicist Jamie French in a written statement issued from Los Angeles.

"LAX," an NBC series starring Heather Locklear and set at the Los Angeles International Airport, will move from Mondays to Wednesdays beginning Oct. 27, bumping "Hawaii" from its slot. A repeat of last year's "West Wing" finale will air at 7 p.m. this Wednesday.

"Hawaii" is the first new show of the season to be put on hiatus. It hasn't found a large audience in its six weeks on the air, and has been averaging about 8.3 million viewers each week. As another strike against the series, it has attracted low ratings among adults 18 to 49, the demographic by which NBC measures success, Zap2it.com reports. The network says the show will remain in production and return to the schedule later in the season.

In an effort to retain its younger viewers, NBC is making the changes before the November sweeps period. The network announced the move Friday.