‘Zero Hour’ canceled by ABC after only three episodes

Well, you can now add yet another series to the list of shows canceled by ABC in the Thursday night timeslot at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Sources are reporting that the network has made the move now to cancel “Zero Hour” after just three airings, though there is no word yet on what the show’s replacement will be.

If you look back over the course of the past several years, the network has literally tried just about everything to give “Grey’s Anatomy” a good lead-in. They tried a high school reunion-themed drama (“My Generation”), action (“Charlie’s Angels”), a female version of “Taken” (“Missing”), and even a military drama in “Last Resort.” Unfortunately, none of these shows have fared well in what is one of the toughest timeslots in television. You have the monster known as “The Big Bang Theory” over on CBS, and you also have “American Idol” on Fox and “The Vampire Diaries” on The CW. (We’ll pretend NBC doesn’t exist here, since they’ve been terrible in this timeslot, too.)

The thinking on ABC’s part is probably right here in that they clearly want to put a show in this place that is not a comedy or a reality show, which differentiates it from the competition. However, it’s just too difficult to put something new. If we were them, we would actually take a massive risk next fall and stick “Grey’s Anatomy” (which could be in its final season) at 8, move the hit “Scandal” an hour earlier, and then use the 10:00 spot to launch some new drama show in order to capitalize on Kerry Washington’s lead-in. It certainly makes more sense than sticking a new show here to die and to give “Grey’s Anatomy” nothing to build on.

Are you going to miss “Zero Hour,” or did you see this coming a mile away? The show joins “Do No Harm” and “The Job” as other midseason shows canceled after three episodes or less.

Photo: ABC