NBC pulls ailing drama; remaining episodes will air online

The writing was on the wall for "Kidnapped" when NBC moved the underperforming drama from Wednesday to Saturday nights. Now even the wall is gone.

The network has pulled "Kidnapped" from its schedule for good, adding to the trail of failed serialized dramas in the 2006-07 season. NBC does, however, plan to air the remaining eight episodes of the show online at NBC.com.

Despite a big-name cast that includes Timothy Hutton, Jeremy Sisto, Dana Delany and Delroy Lindo, and reasonably positive reviews, audiences didn't go for the show, one of a glut of new serialized dramas on network TV this fall. Of the new crop, only NBC's "Heroes" has really broken out. CBS' "Jericho" is also doing reasonably well, as are a couple of more character-based shows, ABC's "Ugly Betty" and "Brothers & Sisters."

After "Kidnapped" averaged under 7 million viewers per week in its original timeslot, NBC first said it would cap the season at 13 episodes to give the show's writers a chance to resolve the story. It then shipped the drama to Saturdays, where its overall audience dropped to about 4 million, with similarly anemic numbers among adults 18-49.

With its exit, "Kidnapped" joins CBS' "Smith" and The CW's "Runaway" -- two other serialized dramas -- in the 2006-07 cancelled-show pile. NBC's comedy "Twenty Good Years" will also leave the air in a couple of weeks, though its producer, Warner Bros. TV, says the show is still in production.

Repeats of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will fill the 9 p.m. Saturday spot for at least the next three weeks. There's no word yet on when the remaining "Kidnapped" episodes will appear online.