Belt-tightening broadcasters continue to take hard-line stances against older, modestly performing shows. CBS has canceled long-running Sunday night military action-drama "The Unit" and NBC is putting an end to Thursday night comedy mainstay "My Name Is Earl" and thriller "Medium." The moves come after late-in-the-game saves for relatively new fan favorites like NBC's "Chuck" and Fox's "Dollhouse,"

Sources also say there's some potential silver lining: "Earl" studio 20th TV is talking to Fox and ABC about one of the networks possibly picking up the comedy.

ABC in particular has been receptive to picking up rival shows, having taken "Scrubs" after NBC canceled the series last year and committing to take on "The New Adventures of Old Christine" should CBS cancel the series (there's still no official word on "Christine," though ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said this morning that last he heard CBS was renewing the show).

Both "Earl" and "The Unit" ran four seasons; "Medium" for five. "Earl" averaged 4.5 million viewers and a 1.7 adult demo rating this season; "The Unit" pulled 9.6 million viewers and a 2.4 rating; "Medium" had 7.2 million viewers and a 2.2 rating


i quit watching earl after the second season and i only watched the unit for a few seconds and would not watch a show like medium so as far as i am concerned they are just opening some space for more dumb crap, YAY!

^^^ Yep, what Jay said. ^^^

I give you credit, I only lasted 2 episodes for Earl. Never bothered with the other two.

Go to link below to see what else is being canceled or not and what's new for next season. This site is my fav for keeping up on stuff. btw...Earl stunk!

futon critic

i lasted maybe 5 minutes of earl one time, and wanted to stab myself in the face with a fire poker

i never watched medium before, but unit was quite ok...

I am glad I read your post. I read the first post some time ago, and believed that Medium was gone. Now I know there is a season 6 starting next week. If you have not watched it then you should give it a try. The husband and wife are great actors. Nothing seems fake about their relationship. The things they do are what you would expect from a couple i.e. foot rubs.