Who knew that putting a niche-y comedy up against American Idol, then sandwiching it between two aging and unfunny shows, was a bad strategy? Just about everyone, including me. But that didn't stop ABC from putting The Knights of Prosperity at 8:30 on Wednesdays, between According to Jim and George Lopez. The strategy was designed to give the show a bit of a safety net, taking it away from the 9 PM airing of Idol, but the ratings remained anemic, sinking like a rock when Idol started airing at 8.

So, ABC did the inevitable and pulled the show from the schedule, starting this week, replacing it with reruns of Jim and Lopez. No word on whether the pulled episodes (the announcement linked above lists three) will be rescheduled. But given the fact that the show only averaged just over five million viewers, it doesn't seem likely the show will return any time soon.

[thanks to Trevor for the tip]

Entertainment Weekly's web site is reporting that ABC is pulling the troubled show Six Degrees from the schedule for the remainder of November and all of December.

The series, produced by J.J. Abrams, has been in trouble ever since its premiere in the post-Grey's Anatomy slot on Thursday nights, losing over half of it's lead-in's audience. To date, the show has been averaging 9.6 million viewers, which puts it 45th amongst prime-time shows. It has also received a critical drubbing, with many critics calling it boring and self-indulgent. No word on when or if the show will come back to the schedule, or what will replace it in its current timeslot.

This just goes to show that you don't lose half the audience of the number-one show on TV and survive very long, no matter who is producing your show. ABC may have given it a longer leash because of the Abrams pedigree, but the bad ratings were too much for it to ignore.

(UPDATE: According to Variety, ABC will put Men In Trees in the Thursday at 10 timeslot, starting November 30. It has also given Trees a full-season order.)