ABC Pulls ‘Day Break’ And Shatner Show

(December 16, 2006) — ABC has turned off the lights for “Day Break” and “Show Me the Money.” The low-rated series airing back-to-back on Wednesday have been pulled by the network.The failure of “Day Break,” a crime thriller starring Taye Diggs, foiled ABC’s plan to effectively fill the slot vacated by “Lost” when it went on hiatus after six episodes.ABC said Friday that repeats of the comedies “George Lopez” and “According to Jim” will air in the 9 p.m. EST time slot that “Day Break” held only briefly. The show, which debuted Nov. 15, attracted fewer than 4.5 million viewers last week and ranked 99th.On Jan. 3, the sitcoms “Knights of Prosperity” and “In Case of Emergency” will debut in the 9-10 p.m. EST Wednesday time period. When “Lost” returns Feb. 7 with 16 new episodes it will move to 10 p.m. EST Wednesday.ABC gave “Lost” an extended break to avoid airing repeats of the densely plotted show and provoking fan irritation.“Show Me the Money,” hosted by William Shatner, will be replaced in the short term by sitcom reruns, ABC said. The network had hoped to duplicate the success of NBC’s “Deal or No Deal” but the shrinking audience for Shatner’s show had dropped to 7.1 million last week.“Deal or No Deal,” in comparison, attracted more than 17 million viewers the same week.Viewers will be able to follow “Day Break” online at ABC.com, at least for now. Thirteen episodes of the show were produced but an ABC spokeswoman wasn’t sure if all remaining episodes would be available at the web site.