‘Lucky 7’ canceled, becomes first casualty of fall season

Steven Spilerberg may be one of the greatest film directors of all time, but he is not exactly winning the lottery here when it comes to television shows. Following its second week of abysmal ratings, ABC canceled “Lucky 7” after only two episodes, making it the first show to officially be sent down the tubes this fall. This means that the show joins “Terra Nova,” “Smash,” and “The River” as recent failures with the Spielberg name attached. “Falling Skies” and “Under the Dome” are the only two shows remaining with his name, and the latter is the only bona fide smash hit.

To us, what made ABC act quickly here is the realization that this show was bombing on a night when it should have flourished. “Agents of SHIELD” launched to huge numbers last week, but even though, over two-thirds of that audience left over the course of the next hour. This is also a time slot on broadcast where there is some wiggle room; while “Chicago Fire” and “Person of Interest” fare well, neither is the same success as “Sons of Anarchy” over on cable.

Even though “Lucky 7” was an interesting property with a cool premise, it was promoted terribly to make it look like some sort of complicated crime thriller; the tone was off for a show that should have been either fun or mysterious, and no one bothered to tune in as a result. Having no stars also played a part in the low ratings.

As for what will take its place, repeats of “Scandal” will start next week at 10:00 until ABC comes up with a more permanent decision for the spot. The next shows that are probably on the bubble right now include “Hostages” over at CBS and “Ironside” and “Welcome to the Family” at NBC. Patience could be even smaller for the latter, given that the network knows that “Community” will be waiting in the wings.

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Photo: ABC