"Lone Star" Axed by FOX on Monday Nights

Here today, gone tomorrow. Such is the fate of certain fall season premiers that just don't make the cut.

FOX network's Lone Star has been put on the chopping block after receiving abysmal ratings in the Monday, 9pm ET slot.

It is the first new show to be pulled this fall, but it will hardly be the last.

During the first week on air "Lone Star" pulled in a paltry 4.1 million viewers. By week two "Lone Star" was down to 3.2 million viewers.

"Lone Star" was an attempt to roll out a night time soap drama, an attempt to be reminiscent of the popular evening drama in the style of the popular 80's evening soap opera "Dallas." One of the problems is that "Lone Star" was character-driven and took time to build a story that the audience could buy into. The other problem is that there was no audience to buy into the story.

"Lone Star" was about a Texas con man, James Wolk, living a double life, with two different women, in two different parts of Texas.

"Lone Star" was an anomaly among immensely popular crime dramas, hospital dramas, and reality TV. I would be nice to see the pendulum once again swing toward good soapy drama, but it is going to have to be a show that appeals to both men and women. "Lone Star" appeared to be geared to men, as it was about a con man who had conned two women into loving him.

The bottom line is that this character-driven drama tried unsuccessfully to fill an action driven drama time slot. This is where viewers were accustomed to watching the action-driven, thriller "24." Viewers of "24" are more likely to tune in elsewhere to find adrenaline-racing drama.

There wasn't much hope for "Lone Star" up against ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," and the much anticipated NBC drama "The Event," which likely pulled many of the thriller viewers who used to be tuned in to FOX on Monday's for "24."

A few viewers are disgruntled about losing the drama, but this show does not have the support of a show like "Friday Night Lights," which viewers were able to save. Viewers may get to pick up the remaining four episodes that have been filmed on another cable channel or DVD, but there will be no completing the story of the "Lone Star" drama.

"Lone Star" will be replaced by a returning favorite, "Lie to Me" in 9pm ET slot.

Sources:
"Lone Star" Canceled, But FOX Could Have Saved It
"Lone Star" Comes to an End