No Third Season for Flight of the Conchords

HBO's The Flight of the Conchords has taken off for the last time. The comedy starring the New Zealand duo will not return.

"We are today announcing that we won't be returning for a third season. We're very proud of the two seasons we made and we like the way the show ended," a statement on their Web site from stars Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement and fellow executive producer James Booth read. "We'd like to thank everyone who helped make the show and also everyone who watched it. While the characters Bret and Jemaine will no longer be around, the real Bret and Jemaine will continue to exist."

McKenzie and Clement, under the name Flight of the Conchords, gained a reputation for their mix of comedy and acoustic folk music in their native New Zealand. The duo hosted a BBC radio series before Flight of the Conchords premiered on HBO in August 2007. On the half-hour comedy, McKenzie and Clement played fictional versions of themselves who move to New York in search of fame and fortune.

The series' second season premiered in February to 826,000 viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Over its two seasons, the show was nominated for 10 Emmys, including best comedy series and best actor in a comedy series for Clement following Season 2.

HBO declined to comment.

Fox Cancels Dollhouse

Fox has canceled Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, TVGuide.com has confirmed.

The sci-fi series, which stars Eliza Dushku, is currently filming its 11th episode and will complete its 13-episode order.

Though Dollhouse saw a ratings bump from DVR viewing after a grim performance in the fall, Fox pulled the cult favorite from its November-sweeps schedule after four episodes.

Whedon took to his fan site to post the following:

"I don't have a lot to say. I'm extremely proud of the people I've worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you'll agree in the coming months. I'm grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again.

I'm off to pursue internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I've read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you'll know what my next project is. But for now there's a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear."

A source close to the production told TVGuide.com that Fox will air the remaining episodes starting Dec. 4 and that the series finale is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 22.

Trust Me Cancelled After One Season

TNT will no longer put its trust in Trust Me.

The network pulled the plug on the freshman advertising drama Friday, according to The New York Times. The show, which starred Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh
as creative executives at an ad agency, received mediocre reviews for its premiere, which drew only 3.4 million viewers and lost half the audience of its The Closer lead-in. The following week, the numbers fell to 1.9 million viewers.

Michael Wright, executive vice president and head of programming for TNT in Atlanta, said the show "achieved creative success," but "it didn't find an audience."

Wright said audiences may not relate to the show's subject matter. "People sometimes lament there's so much drama built around doctors and lawyers and police," he said, adding that advertising is "not as accessible a subject as other subjects on television." AMC's critically acclaimed advertising drama Mad Men has lots of buzz, but pulls in a similarly small audience.

Signs of Trust Me's demise had been swirling: McCormack signed on for an untitled ABC comedy pilot last month, and TNT ordered three new dramas — Ray Romano's Men of a Certain Age, Jada Pinkett Smith-starrer HawthoRNe, and cop drama Dark Blue starring Dylan McDermott and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. All are slated to begin airing this year.

ABC Cancels Life on Mars

ABC has decided to end "Life on Mars" after a single year -- but in an unusual move, the network will keep the show on the air through the end of its full run, reports Variety.

That will give the series a rare opportunity to sign off with a proper finale, wrapping up the series' core mystery.

Network insiders said they were fans of the show and pleased with its creative chops -- but that the ratings ultimately didn't warrant a second season. The most recent episode of "Life on Mars" averaged just a 2.0 rating/5 share among adults 18-49, as well as 5.5 million viewers.

Five more episodes of "Life on Mars" remain out of the series' 17-episode order. As previously announced, the show's Wednesday 10 p.m. slot will go to newcomer "The Unusuals" in April.

"Life on Mars" stars Jason O'Mara, Gretchen Mol, Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli and Jonathan Murphy.

Fox Boss Announces Prison Break's Return ... and Finale

Michael and Lincoln soon will be able to finally catch their breath. Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly announced at Tuesday's TCA Winter Press Tour that "this will be the last year" of Prison Break.

While citing the series' four-year run as one for the "win column," Reilly acknowleged, "It got to a point where a lot of the stories had been told."

Prison Break aired its 16th episode/annual "winter finale" on Dec. 22. At least six more hours are set to kick off Friday, April 17 (after Sarah Connor unspools eight straight new episodes), but that count could be upped to eight so as to properly finish the serialized saga. Said Reilly, "We want to finish strong."

Jurassic Park 4 Will Probably Not Happen, Producers Say

After the sad news of Michael Crichton’s death last month, some people were left wondering about the fate of the mostly-amazingly-successful Jurassic Park film franchise. Rumors of a fourth film have been kicking around for quite some time, but now it looks like they have finally been put to bed.

According to Comingsoon, producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy were speaking at a junket for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button when they revealed that there have been no developments on JP4. When asked about the film, Kennedy said:

No… I don’t know. You know, when Crichton passed away, I sorta felt maybe that’s it. Maybe that’s a sign that we don’t mess with it.

For me, this is actually good news. While I thought Spielberg’s Jurassic Park was a kickass adventure and a fairly faithful adaptation, The Lost World kind of took things off the rails, what with Spielberg’s insistence at having a dinosaur terrorize the mainland (a plot element not found in Crichton’s original book). Of course, Jurassic Park 3 was a money grab, which they didn’t even directly base off of any source material. I thought the results were fairly catastrophic. In other words, they had already taken this franchise and ran it into the ground. Hopefully, it too can rest in peace now.

ABC, 1-2-3: Dirty Sexy, Daisies and Eli All Goners

Pop, pop, pop go all three sophomore bubbles shows at ABC.

Sources tell TVGuide.com that the network has taken a pass on greenlighting any additional episodes of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money, and that all three series will come to an end when this season's 13-episode orders expire.

Daisies wrapped production on its 13th episode last week, at which point series creator Bryan Fuller said he was holding out hope that high-ranking advocates for his show would work some magic. Didn't happen. Fuller, though, has said that Ned and Chuck's story, in such a sitch, will continue on in comic-book form. So there's that.

Dirty Sexy stars William Baldwin and Seth Gabel told TVGuide.com earlier this week that they were just finishing their own 13th episode, and urged fans to tune in, or see the Darlings cash out. Like the economy, they got caught in a downward spiral.

Eli Stone was perhaps the longest shot of the three, not benefiting from the fanatical support that the fantastical Daisies did, nor possessing the sexy sheen of DSM.

Is all hope lost for fans of the above? I'm not one to extend false expectations, but an insider from at least one of the aforementioned trio urges me to remind you that as long as new episodes are on the air, there is always that slim chance that improved ratings could — could — beckon a white horse to save the day.

NBC Axes My Own Worst Enemy and Lipstick Jungle

NBC has pulled the plug on freshman tentpole drama "My Own Worst Enemy" and returning sophomore series "Lipstick Jungle," says The Hollywood Reporter. 

The cancellations come after both shows dropped to new ratings lows in recent weeks, with the Christian Slater action series sinking to a 1.8 among adults 18-49 (4.3 million viewers) on Monday and "Jungle" falling to a 1.2 (3.3 million viewers) on Friday.

"Enemy" is now shooting its ninth -- and final -- episode. "Lipstick" has shot all 13 of its initial order. Both are produced by Universal Media Studios.

Fox Cancels MADtv

Fox confirmed Wednesday that the Saturday night sketch series "MADtv," which had barely escaped cancellation in recent years, will end its run at the end of this season. 

QDE and Warner Bros. TV were behind the show, which was launched in 1995 as a competitor to "Saturday Night Live" by David Salzman and Quincy Jones. Fax Bahr and Adam Small created the comedy, but left several years ago. 

John Crane, Salzman and Jones currently serve as executvie producers. 

The current cast includes Arden Myrin, Bobby Lee, Crista Flanagan, Keegan-Michael Key, Nicole Parker and Johnny Sanchez. 

The decision to cancel "MADtv" comes after the show failed to see a ratings boost during the recent presidential campaign (on the show, Key portrayed Barack Obama, while Lee played John McCain). Rival "SNL," meanwhile, has marked some of its best numbers in years.

Fox Not Renewing King of the Hill

After several previous brushes with cancellation, Fox has opted not to renew veteran animated comedy "King of the Hill" beyond its current 13th season. 

In April, Fox picked up 13 more episodes from the 20th Century Fox TV-produced show, which are wrapping production. 

A lot has changed since "King of the Hill" premiered in 1997. Its creators Greg Daniels and Mike Judge have moved on to other projects -- Daniels developed and is running NBC's "The Office," and Judge has a new animated series, "The Goode Family," launching on ABC in midseason. 

Judge had continued to voice the central character on the series, alongside voiceover cast members Kathy Najimy, Pamela Adlon, Brittany Murphy, Tom Petty, Johnny Hardwick and Stephen Root. 

"Hill" has been executive produced by Judge, Daniels, John Altschuler, Dave Krinsky, Michael Rotenberg, Howard Klein, Jim Dauterive and Garland Testa.

Door closes on Opportunity Knocks

ABC's mobile game show gets a whammy, is cancelled after only three episodes. 

All you game-show fans that have been peeking out your curtains just waiting for the Opportunity Knocks bandwagon to show up in your cul-de-sac, you're wasting your time. ABC has cancelled Opportunity Knocks after just three episodes, making it the first ABC show to be swept under the rug.

Opportunity Knocks was a bit of a ratings bummer, averaging just a 1.9 rating and 5 share in the key 18-49 year-old demographic and 6.3 million viewers, according to Variety. It will be replaced on Tuesday nights by a Dancing With the Stars recap. Ouch. ABC is considering airing the remaining episodes later on. 

In case you missed it, Opportunity Knocks was a game show on wheels. The production would literally roll up to contestants' houses, set up in the street, and tape the show with friends and neighbors watching from the sidewalks. The game would test families' knowledge of each other, asking questions such as, "How many girls has little Billy kissed?" J.D. Roth hosted, with Ashton Kutcher one of the producers. 

This is the second cancellation this season, with Fox ditching Do Not Disturb weeks ago.

Fox Slams Door on Do Not Disturb

Fox has canceled Jerry O'Connell and Niecy Nash's inn-centered sitcom, Do Not Disturb, after just three episodes. The series launched to low ratings, and didn't pick up enough steam to last a full season, EW's Michael Ausiello reports. 

The show's Wednesday slot will be filled by 'Til Death reruns for the moment. The cancellation comes days after the production team sent a letter to TV critics apologizing (!) "for being the perpetrators of such bad television." In addition, the team also blamed the show's bad reception, in part, on Fox's decision to air a different first episode than initially planned, according to Variety. 

Asked to comment, a Fox rep told TVGuide.com "the show is pre-empted next week," but elaborated no further.