Looks like Son of the Beach has been beached. At least for now.
Reports say FX has decided not to order any more episodes of Howard Stern's sun 'n' sand sitcom after a raunchy three-season run.
But reports also say Stern and producers are looking for a new taker for their Baywatch parody.
FX could not be reached for comment today. No word from Stern's camp, either. (The radio talker, who has often talked up the show on air, is on vacation this week.)
Son of the Beach, starring Timothy Stack as flabby lifeguard Notch Johnson and a bevy of well-toned bikini types (including David Boreanaz's bride, Jaime Bergman), premiered on FX on March 13, 2000.
The last new episode--the concluding segment of a three-part season finale--will air on the cable network on October 1, according to Daily Variety.
In a twist for the TV biz, the trade paper says ratings are not the reason FX wants to put Beach in dry dock. Indeed, the number of eyeballs watching the well-endowed sitcom has remained steady. An average of 963,000 viewers tuned in to each episode in 2000, compared to an average of 983,000 viewers in 2002.
According to Variety, FX, the Fox-owned cable outlet once best known for airing Beverly Hills, 90210 reruns, wants to rid itself of Beach in order to "move its brand in a different direction."
FX is strutting its stuff after seeing its freshman cop series, The Shield, earn an Emmy nomination for star Michael Chiklis. The network is also developing a new sitcom, Lucky, for non-flabby Sex and the City alum John Corbett.
While Stern's famous mug has never graced Beach (he's too busy executive producing), several members of his radio family have done the cameo thing, including producer Gary Dell'Abate, "wack pack" regular Beetlejuice, the late Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf and the now-exiled Jackie "the Jokeman" Martling.