That was fast. If this were a newspaper, the ink would barely be dry on my previous post about the dismal ratings for The Ex List. Now, the die has been cast: CBS has canceled The Ex List.

This Friday's show will be the end of the run. The four remaining shows in the can may be run off some time in the future, but more than likely they won't. For the immediate future, reruns of NCIS will fill the Friday 9 p.m. slot.

The Ex List is the first hour-long drama to be dumped this season. It's a sad commentary on CBS that they are so challenged when it comes to developing TV dramas that don't involve criminal activities.

As Jason wrote the other day, this has been a strange TV season thus far, with only two shows having been given the pink slip. That said, I think CBS's The Ex List is not long for this world. There are a couple of really good reasons I say this, and just so you know, I'm not wishing for its demise. I can just read the handwriting on the wall.

The Nielsen ratings from last Friday show that the shows around The Ex List -- Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs -- posted their highest ratings of the season to date. Nearly 10 million viewers watched the Jennifer Love Hewitt show, while another 9 million were glued to the Rob Morrow brotherly procedural at 10 p.m. In between, however, The Ex List drooped to a season low 5.6 million.

'The Ex List'
(9PM ET, CBS) series premiere
Talk about calling a do over! Thirtysomething single Bella ('Grey's Anatomy's' Elizabeth Reaser) visits a psychic who tells her she has just one year to find her true love, or she's likely to end up alone.

As if that wasn't enough to send her biological clock ticking, ticking, ticking, Bella's also told that she's already met -- and dated -- the man of her dreams, meaning she's gotta pull out the titular list of exes to reconnect and see which one was The One who got away.

Sure, it's an only-in-TV land premise, but Reaser is a delightful, quirky, and, thankfully, happier character than she was as 'Grey's's' trauma-prone Jane Doe. Although, considering Doe's woes, she'd almost have to be ...

When I first saw the pilot for CBS's The Ex List back in June, something about it bugged me. Sure, it was pleasant enough, and the show's premise -- a woman goes back through her past to find "the one," based on a psychic's reading -- seemed like it was fertile ground for stories and funny moments. Add in the presence of the charming Diane Ruggiero as show-runner, and there was potential for a pretty good Friday night diversion.

But it did bug me, and I couldn't put my finger on it until I saw the new version of the show's pilot, which airs tomorrow night at 9 PM ET. Yes, it's nice and pleasant. Even funny at times. But I don't care at all about Bella Bloom, her friends, or her quest. In fact, that quest seems a little sad to me. And the departure of Ruggiero isn't going to make that any better.

A CBS press release landed in my inbox today with this earth-shattering news: CBS's fall programming ads (20 total) will be featured exclusively in People's Sept. 22 issue.

From the release: "In a special arrangement with the magazine, CBS will be the exclusive broadcast advertiser in the issue, on stands Sept. 12." Of course, that's right before the launch of CBS's new fall lineup.

And it sounds like this might be a first. George Schweitzer, president of CBS Marketing Group says, "CBS has long valued its relationship with People, and we're elated that they worked with us to pull off this first-time strategy to be the sole broadcast advertiser in this well-timed issue." You know, whatever. Blah, blah, blah.

So why should we care? Honestly, I really don't. I just keep thinking, People? What, they couldn't come up with anything snappier? Like, I dunno ... maybe Entertainment Weekly? Vanity Fair? I guess with 43 million readers, they'll reach a lot of people in People.

It's coming. The table is set, the players are on the field, the sails are raised, and the pretty maids are all in a row. Of course, I speak of the 2008-09 television schedule. In just a few short weeks viewers will be able to dine on a number of favorite and new dishes that are being served by the networks as well as the increasing number of cable channels who are delving into original programming.

While other fall seasons have come and gone with nary a whimper, this season may be different. Due to the prolonged Writers Strike many shows ended their seasons quite early. Programs like Life, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes haven't aired original episodes since the end of 2007. Heck, there hasn't been a new episode of The Shield since June of last year! So, the beginning of the 2008-09 season will be a second chance for some of these shows, particularly the ones that premiered last season, to show their worth to fans and the networks.

The buzz on '90210,' the 'Office' (not) spin-off and more

Twice a year, TV critics from across the country gather in Los Angeles for the Television Critics' Association press tour.

For two weeks the press gets the chance to chat with the actors and writers from every network and cable channel -- and showered with useless freebies (an oven mitt promoting 'Coolio's Rules'!) -- all to better understand the season's new shows.

Here are the best boob tube tidbits we gathered at the latest TCAs.

The four CBS show panels on Friday involved four of the five new programs the network is rolling out in the fall (there was no panel for Gary Unmarried, or whatever they're calling it today, because Jay Mohr and his wife Nikki Cox are renewing their vows overseas). While the panels for The Mentalist, The Ex List, Eleventh Hour, and Worst Week had their moments, none of them were particularly newsworthy or interesting.

At least Diane Ruggiero, the creator of The Ex List, was entertaining enough to keep me from jabbing a pen in my arm to keep me awake. In fact, she might have actually convinced me to watch The Lake House, as long as I have a drink in my hand.