First up: NBC's The Playboy Club becomes 2011-12's first network TV cancelation, getting the ax Tuesday after three dismally rated Monday night outings.

At the same time, NBC gave full-season pickups to two new comedies -- Up All Night (which doesn't bode well for its Wednesday hourmate Free Agents, the lead-out whose ratings fall off a very steep cliff) and Whitney (Thursday's live-audience lead-out from The Office). NBC has been promo-ing the heck out of these two during Sunday night football and other popular offerings.

(Check all the new fall show numbers in Entertainment Weekly's helpful Death Watch 2011: Fall TV survival status report.)

Meanwhile, deals are currently in negotiation for key players in two stalwart TV series, and the early news is iffy.

We link to two fine reports from our friends at Deadline Hollywood -- the first about Michael C. Hall's contract possibilities for another season or two of Showtime's Dexter (which just had its most colossal season-premiere audience Sunday); the second regarding the always-thrilling voice talent wranglings as Fox fave The Simpsons is now 23 seasons into its seemingly eternal run.

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UPDATED Sunday, Oct. 9 -- The Simpsons deal is done, and the show has been renewed for Seasons 24 and 25. More from Deadline Hollywood.

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UPDATED Thursday, Oct. 6 at 5 p.m. ET -- NBC's Free Agents is a goner. The ratings for last night's fourth airing were abysmal, dropping off precipitously from lead-in Up All Night. NBC will re-air its Thursday sitcom Whitney in the Wednesday 8:30 ET time slot for the time being.

Meanwhile, CBS gave a full-season pickup to its high-performing Monday comedy 2 Broke Girls, which fits nicely into that night's lineup.

Also at NBC, in place of its dead Monday drama The Playboy Club, the network plans to re-pump its Thursday police hour Prime Suspect. That's until the debut of the NBC News magazine Rock Center With Brian Williams on Monday, Oct. 31 at 10 p.m. ET.

3 Comments

bebe said:

Unbelievable - they've cancelled 2 of the best new shows! The Playboy Club was surprisingly good! Excellent performances by a great cast, and a good storyline too. Not to mention the fab musical numbers.

And then the best new comedy - Free Agents - smart, well-written and great cast again. Well, at least we have the BBC version, starting 10/8 on BBC America, to look forward to.

October 7, 2011 2:35 PM

Tess said:

Of the two sitcoms, Up All Night and Free Agents, the one which made me laugh out loud was Free Agents, so naturally, that's the one that gets canceled. I mean, really... 3 episodes? That's it? That's barely time to find an audience. Kathryn Hahn is a comedic gem. I'm sorry to see this one go.

October 8, 2011 2:37 AM

Dan said:

This is the first new TV season in many years where those series I chose to try and set up on my DVR have all been given the boot!!

Not ONE new show I thought appealing to me has lasted! I pulled the plug on Person Of Interest last night, a series with so much potential, resulting in what looks to me like a weekly repetation of the same theme, with very minute tidbits of what may have ever been a coherent back story for the two main characters. There is nothing here to get you on the edge of your seat, and all the plots are just as contrived as Prime Suspect, another cookie cutter cop show I dumped after the first viewing. As for the Playboy Club, that one never even made it into my home. Thank you Dave!

And now back to cable and BBC America for some quality television.

October 8, 2011 3:05 PM

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