Anthony Edwards

'Zero Hour' cancelled after just three episodes - it's not exactly a surprise now is it? ABC has confirmed the drama starring ER actor Anthony Edwards has been pulled and will play no further point on the network's schedule. It looked ominous for the show almost from the onset, debuting to just 6.3 million viewers, making it the least-watched premiere for a scripted series ever on ABC.

Worse was to come, with 'Zero Hour' continuing to drop in the ratings - it's final airing on February 28 brought in just 5.1 million viewers. It's Thursday night timeslot saw it up against big hitters American Idol and The Big Bang Theory - a battle that it was never going to win. Its predecessor Last Resort held the timeslot on ABC in the fall before it was also axed. 

'Zero Hour' followed the life of paranormal magazine publisher Anthony Edwards, who tried to save his abducted wife Laila while also saving the world from an impending cataclysm. Can you see why it got cancelled? According to the Hollywood Reporter, it will be replaced by encores of 'Shark Tank' until 'Wife Swap' kicks off its seven-week run on March 21. ABC are still trying to figure out when to air the remaining episodes of 'Zero Hour' - for anyone still interested - though this is likely to be in the summer. 

Continue reading: 'Zero Hour' Cancelled After 3 Episodes: Anthony Edwards Looking For A Job

Zero Hour – ABC’s Davinci Code-like drama – has been cancelled just three episodes after it premiered. The show might come back, but it simply wasn’t providing decent competition for the show’s around it.

The American conspiracy series, created by Paul Scheuring for and starring Anthony Edwards may air again in the summer, but stiff competition from shows like The Big Bang Theory and American Idol, which show at the same time. The last episode brought in a pretty terrible 1.0 rating/3 share in the 18 to 49 demographic, which, as anyone in TV knows, is the most sought-after demo for any show or studio. The 8pm Thursday slot has become a hard one to fill; “Last Resort” had previously held the slot on ABC, and was also cancelled after thirteen episodes. Yidio say “dry and passé writing, questionable plotlines, and uncomfortable character chemistry,” meant Edwards – making his first TV appearance since ER – couldn’t save it despite a “promising concept”. The first three episodes hold a “generally unfavourable” score of 39% on metacritic, but an early positive review from The Wall Street Journal had given hope to the people behind the show.

Continue reading: Zero Hour Cancelled Only Three Episodes Into Its Run

Zero Hour, the American conspiracy television series created by Paul Scheuring, premieres on ABC tonight (February 14, 2013), though early critics reviews have left us with absolute NO IDEA as to whether it's going to be any good. Some viewers may have made their minds up - the pilot episode has been available on Hulu since February 1.

The show certainly seems to boast a decent pedigree - Scheuring was the mastermind behind the thrilling drama Prison Break. The show won the 2006 People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama and was nominated for the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series Drama. Zero Hour follows the story of Hank (E.R.'s Anthony Edwards), who runs the magazine Modern Skeptic with his friends Rachel (Addison Timlir) and Arron (Scott Michael Foster). The group finds themselves involved in a dangerous worldwide conspiracy after Hank's wife (Jacinda Barrett) is kidnapped.

As mentioned, the show has polarized critics - basically, nobody knows whether it's the best or worst television drama since, err, Prison Break. Dorothy Rabinowitz of the Wall Street Journal was generally impressed by Zero Hour, "It's a measure of the skill brought to this script by Paul Scheuring that a first episode so awash in multiplying complications manages to maintain its coherence and even a significant measure of suspense," she wrote. David Hinckley of the New York Daily News offered cautious, though Tom Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Zero Hour has lots of twists and turns that could be worth following. It also has the DNA to be laughably bad." It's safe to assume Aaron Riccio of Slant Magazine will not be tuning in for the rest of the series, writing, "The first 12 minutes are enough to bury it, though given the shoddy acting, overwrought dialogue, and poor production values, it's easy to imagine that 12 full episodes would in fact bring about the end of time itself."

Continue reading: 'Zero Hour' Is Either Laughing Bad Or Ridiculously Good, You Decide