NBC Cancels 'Free Agents'

Providing yet further proof that not all that glitters in the U.K. manages to turn into gold here in the States, NBC announced today the cancellation of their new series "Free Agents." Starring Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn, the show was a redux of a highly successful British comedy.

Despite being one of the best new shows in NBC's lineup with a cast of quality comedic actors and intelligent and well-written scripts, ratings for the series plummeted 23 percent in its second week (after a respectable opening of 6.3 million viewers), and the show could only manage around 3 million viewers this week.

In "Free Agents," Azaria starred alongside perpetual female sidekick Katherine Hahn as a couple of friends and co-workers who ended up sleeping together despite both carrying heavy baggage from past relationships.

The chemistry between the average-looking-but-still-attractive couple was definitely there, and the writing was spot-on, but the show apparently wasn't able to find an audience quickly enough.

Azaria, who is also facing some serious contract negotiation drama with Fox over whether or not there will be another season of "The Simpsons," had mounted an aggressive Twitter campaign trying to get fans to make their friends watch, hoping the high-quality show could bring in enough viewers to be given a shot to succeed.

"Okay, it's do or die time for my show Free Agents -- we need eyeballs tonight at 8:30 on NBC!! Watch tonight or we may go away," he Tweeted.

No luck on that front.

"Free Agents" is yet another example of shows that are successful simply not translating effectively in the U.S. Like "Coupling" before it and the controversy-addled MTV remake of "Skins," the show attempted to re-create the success of the "Office," yet somehow failed to capture America's heart and funnybone.

In other fall season news, critics are speculating that ABC's "Charlie's Angels" redux and the Kevin Dillon (aka Johnny Drama) series "How to Be a Gentleman" on CBS may both be next in line to get the axe, while "Up All Night" and "Whitney" have both been picked up for full seasons.