Kramer Kaput; "The $treet" Dead Ends

As expected, NBC announced today it will not order new episodes of The Michael Richards Show, the erstwhile Seinfeld neighbor's poorly rated--and even more poorly reviewed--comedy about a bumbling private eye.

The decision makes NBC the first network to cancel five of its new shows this season. (Um, congratulations?) The Peacock has already given the heave-ho to freshman sitcoms Tucker and Daddio, the newspaper drama Deadline and Aaron Spelling's cheeseball soap, Titans. Only three rookie shows--Ed, DAG and Cursed (which will soon be renamed The Weber Show)--are still on the net's schedule.

Castle Rock, the studio responsible for The Michael Richards Show, is expected to shut down production immediately, meaning three of the original 13 episodes ordered by NBC will not be shot. The remaining episodes will continue in the current time slot (8 p.m. Tuesdays) until January 2.

With The Michael Richards Show gone, NBC will revamp its Tuesday lineup and make way for the midseason replacement, Three Sisters--a sitcom about family relationships starring Katherin LaNasa, David Alan Basche, Vicki Lewis and Dyan Cannon and written by veteran scribes Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline. Beginning January 9, DAG will move to Richards' 8:30 p.m. slot, and Three Sisters will follow Frasier at 9:30 p.m. (NBC has ordered four additional episodes of DAG.)

NBC Entertainment President Garth Ancier used Thursday's shuffling announcement to kiss some Frasier rear-end, now that the network and Paramount are in tough negotiations to renew the series.

"Clearly, Frasier has again proved what a powerhouse it is anchoring our important Tuesday comedy block," he said in a statement, "and Three Sisters is a show we really feel deserves the lead-in Frasier will provide."

As for The Michael Richards Show, after enduring some of its worst ratings yet this week, its death seemed imminent. Even before its premiere, the show underwent a major creative overhaul, adding costars Tim Meadows and William Devane into the mix. But critics still trashed the series, deriding its weak premise and its reliance on stale, Kramer-like gags.

The Michael Richards Show premiered to promising numbers (proving the drawing power of Richards' name), but viewers soon fled. After five airings, the series averaged just 9.2 million viewers and a 4.1 rating and 11 share among adults 18-49--down 18 percent from NBC's performance last year with Just Shoot Me in the time slot.

NBC wasn't the only network doing the pre-midseason shuffle Thursday. Fox has decided not to pick up additional episodes of The $treet, Darren Star's poorly received series about big-time securities traders. Despite the recent attempt to jumpstart ratings with a guest-starring stint by 90210 alum Jennie Garth, The $treet already seemed headed for a dead end. Its final episode will air next Wednesday.

ABC, meanwhile, put its Friday comedy Madigan Men, starring Gabriel Byrne, on hiatus. The move is part of a shuffling that will shift Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from Tuesdays to Fridays and make room for the new saboteur spy adventure, The Mole.

The Mole, a new reality game show from Stone Stanley Entertainment, will premiere January 9 at 8 p.m. Regis, meanwhile, will head to Fridays at 8 p.m. starting January 5, and sitcom survivors Two Guys and a Girl and Norm will fill out the 9 p.m. slot.

It's not yet known whether Madigan Men will return to the schedule following The Mole's nine-episode run. But like all shows "on hiatus," don't hold your breath.