Show's creator says she couldn't 'find direction' for new season

The number of HBO shows about therapists and their patients now stands at one.

The cable channel has pulled the plug on a second season of "Tell Me You Love Me," a decision that creator Cynthia Mort and HBO seemed to have arrived at together, according to the showbiz trade papers. The network renewed the lightly watched series after its first season last fall.

"Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, we were unable to find the direction of the show for the second season," Mort says in a statement. She also notes the "considerable amount of time" that passed between seasons; the show debuted last September, and a new season was unlikely to air before 2009.

"Tell Me You Love Me" focused on three couples, all of whom were having intimacy issues and were seeing the same therapist (Jane Alexander). Tim DeKay, Ally Walker, Sonya Walger, Adam Scott and Sonya Walger also starred.

HBO's other therapist-and-patient series, "In Treatment," is still going ahead, albeit with several new cast members for its second season.

"Tell Me You Love Me" earned a lot of press for its graphic-even-for-HBO sex scenes and some critical praise for its deeply intimate look at relationships. Neither of those things, however, translated into a very big audience -- the show typically attracted only about a million viewers a week in initial airings.

Both Mort and HBO say they're ready to work on other projects. "We really feel Cynthia has an important voice that belongs on HBO," the network's Michael Lombardo says, "and we look forward to the next show she will create for us."