So much for Jackman's VIVA LAUGHLIN! -- CBS cancelled it!

Yup. After only one aired episode, CBS has cancelled Hugh Jackman's produced series/musical VIVA LAUGHLIN!.

PLAYBILL.COM article: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/112110.html

Updated On: 10/22/07 at 05:30 PM

Come back to Broadway Hugh, we still love you!

THE AMAZING RACE will start November 4th and take this time slot So excited!

Actually, there were two episodes aired which is one of the reasons the show was canceled, there was a significant drop of viewers from the premiere to the second episode (a drop from numbers that were already less-than-stellar, the reviews that called it the worst show in the history of TV didn't help either).

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There was one episode aired, twice.

Wow... cancelled after only 2 shows!! Even that musical theatre/cop drama of 1990... "Cop Rock" lasted 11 episodes (from September 26, 1990 to December 26, 1990). Here is a link... from RC in Austin, Texas

Cop Rock

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Updated On: 10/23/07 at 09:09 PM

I watched about ten minutes worth of this show and that is all i could stand. What exactly was the point of having anyone sing if they were singing along with the original recording? I just didn't get it. I didn't doubt that we would never see an episode two.

Seven (7) episodes were filmed, with CBS having the option to cancel the series or renew it for a full season, which would have given the series a total of 22 episodes.

The unaired episodes could most likely be released on a COMPLETE SERIES DVD or just locked away forever.

I read they filmed eight episodes, and were in the middle of shooting the ninth one on Monday when they were told they were cancelled.

CBS was thinking they could bank off the success of the original BBC series, Viva Blackpool. They were just clueless as to how to do so. I didn't like Viva Blackpool, so I didn't bother to watch Viva Laughlin.

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All these posts and no one mentions the presence of Broadway's Anna Kendrick in two of the VL episodes? ("Holly" in what most posters are calling episode 2-- the last episode aired-- which was actually the first episode after the "pilot." She's also in what would've been the next episode aired, which we may or may not someday have access to.)

Wonder what her role would've turned into beyond the brief "Hello" and wiggle of her butt that viewers did get to see.

They are also apparently considering airing them on one of the cable networks CBS owns. Hugh's filming a movie, but his wife made comments when she was asked about it:

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22644039-5001021,00.html

Deb and Hugh gutted over Viva
By Erin McWhirter

October 25, 2007 12:00am

HAVING the axe fall on their musical drama Viva Laughlin hasn't deterred Deborra-Lee Furness and husband Hugh Jackman from continuing to develop projects through their production company Seed.

A philosophical Furness braved the media yesterday as a presenter at the 2007 Australian Film Institute Award nominations announcements, just 24 hours after the Nine Network dumped the television series after one episode.

The actress admitted the show's storyline was a "huge risk" - but one they were willing to take for their first TV production.

"I can't explain how disappointed we are and obviously upset," Furness said.

"This is showbiz, if you don't take any risks . . . the fact we got cancelled after two shows - it happens fast, you have to just move on to the next one.

"We are looking at scripts and still developing."

Furness said CBS, the US network which axed the series after two episodes, had told Seed none of their shows was striking a chord with viewers and most had been panned by critics.

But an upbeat Furness said that, given the chance, she felt Viva Laughlin could have built an audience base, especially in Australia.

"This is out of the box. This is a drama and they are singing along and I think that takes a while to get used to . . . obviously (I) wish we had more time to show it off," she said.

"But hey, if I am going to fail I am going to fail spectacularly - and it seems we did!"

Updated On: 10/26/07 at 10:05 PM

First of all, I didn't know there was anything musical about this. It wasn't very clear in the ads. Now, it makes sense why they were advertising this on the Tonys. However, those same ads on the awards made me so annoyed that I refused to look further into the show. Maybe if they hadn't shoved it down people's throat people would've been more interested.

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