UPN Network takes 'Jake 2.0' out of circulation



The sci-fi drama failed to find an audience all season.
ZAP2IT.COM
At a recent press conference in front of assembled TV critics in Hollywood, UPN entertainment chief Dawn Ostroff stated, "'Jake 2.0,' as you know, we put on hiatus."
Executive producer David Greenwalt replies, "To say we're on hiatus is about the same as saying that O.J. and Nicole Simpson are having a trial separation."
The sci-fi drama starring Chris Gorham ("Popular") as a secret agent supercharged by an infusion of nanobots -- molecule-sized computers -- struggled to find an audience all season in the very competitive Wednesday, 9 p.m., time slot (also home to "The West Wing," "Angel," "The Bachelor" and "The O.C.").
But it was the performance of another UPN show in that slot that apparently was the nail in "Jake's" coffin.
"We put 'Top Model' in," Ostroff said, "and with the repeat we did a good number."
"When you've got a show like 'America's Top Model,"' Greenwalt says, "that costs a tenth of what 'Jake' does, and scores better with a rerun, we're [expletive]."
But he does give UPN and studio Viacom credit for supporting the show as far as they could.
"They gave us a back nine," he says, "which became a back six."
"Jake 2.0" goes off the schedule with four unaired episodes. According to a UPN spokesperson, no decision has been made as to when or if those episodes will air.