NBC Gives Pink Slips To Five Shows

NEW YORK (AP) — NBC pulled the plug Friday on Eva Longoria’s “Telenovela,” a comedy spoof of the Spanish-language soap operas, after only a few months on the air.

It was one of five series cancellations made by the network, as it clears the deck for a new schedule to be announced on Sunday.

With the broadcasters all presenting next season’s schedules to advertisers next week, there’s been a flurry of pink slips delivered in Hollywood, along with the happier news that pilots are being picked up for the schedule. Between ABC, Fox and CBS, more than a dozen primetime shows were axed on Thursday.

“Telenovela” debuted in December. The comedy “Undateable,” which lasted longer than many thought it would, also was canceled. It premiered as a summer series in 2014 and earned two other seasons — the most recent one with the gimmick that the show aired live.

Three other NBC series that were barely around long enough for many people to know they existed learned they wouldn’t come back for second seasons. They are “Crowded,” a sitcom featuring a couple whose empty nest is filled again by adult children; “Game of Silence,” a drama that debuted last month featuring five friends who tried to keep a long-ago secret; and “Heartbeat,” about a female heart transplant surgeon working in a male-dominated field.