Cbs Yanks ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’

Mon., Nov. 18, 1996

The Washington Post

CBS pulled the plug Wednesday on its Friday night espionage comedy drama, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” after only eight outings.

It eventually will be replaced by the former NBC Navy drama “JAG,” which joins the schedule Jan. 3. A series of specials, starting with the “Dallas” reunion Friday night, will fill the gap until after the holidays, CBS announced.

The Smiths at 9 p.m. were not providing a sufficient lead-in to the Don Johnson cop drama “Nash Bridges” at 10, and the competition from Fox’s new “Millennium” was making it even tougher.

After their final appearance last Friday, the Smiths ranked 73rd among 125 prime-time dramas on the networks. “Nash Bridges” ranks 55th.

So far this season, CBS has sent another of its new dramas, “EZ Streets,” back to the repair shop and has canceled two sit-coms, “Public Morals” and “Almost Perfect.” The sit-coms were dropped after only their first appearance.

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