ABC revealed Friday (March 1) that it has cancelled the low-rated drama "Zero Hour" after airing just three episodes, HitFix.com reports.
The Anthony Edwards-starring series struggled in its Thursday night time slot since premiering last month. It debuted on Feb. 14 to 6.4 million viewers and 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. The most recent episode dropped to just 5.1 million viewers and a 1.0 18-49 demo rating.
Repeats of Friday staple "Shark Tank" will fill the 8/7 p.m. CT hour for the next two weeks before the March 21 premiere of "Wife Swap" and the return of "Wipeout" on May 9.
"Zero Hour" adds to the growing list of ABC dramas that have suffered a quick death in the time slot over the past few seasons, including "My Generation," "FlashForward," "Charlie's Angels," "Missing" and "Last Resort."
The remaining episodes of the series have not yet been rescheduled, though the network suggested that they will air sometime in the summer.
The show becomes the third freshman series on ABC to get the axe following the cancellations of "666 Park Avenue" and the aforementioned "Last Resort."
It's also just the latest new broadcast series to struggle to find an audience. NBC's "Do No Harm" was cancelled after two low-rated episodes, while "Cult" on The CW has been shipped to Fridays after failing to reach a million viewers for either of its two airing on Tuesday night.
"Zero Hour" was Edward's first full-time TV role since leaving NBC's "E.R." in 2002.
Meanwhile, ABC's newest drama "Red Widow," starring Radha Mitchell as a California housewife who must protect her family following her drug trafficker husband's violent death, premieres with a two-hour episode this Sunday, March 3 at 9/8 p.m. CT. So far, the series has received mixed reviews from critics, averaging a score of 48 out of 100 on Metacritic, with the New York Post calling it a "very silly mid-season drama."
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