‘The Will’ Is Dead

Call it irony – it was just announced that The Will needs a Last Will and Testament of its own, because according to both published and CBS sources, it’s dead.

The show, which was originally picked up by ABC and then dropped before production had begun, was later picked up by CBS. Many said it was in bad taste, but CBS and the show’s producers believed in the concept. One producer even said at the time, “The bottom line is, you’re going to see some guy who hates Uncle Charlie take Uncle Charlie out of the competition. And that’s going to be a lot sweeter than even a rose ceremony, where everyone’s only known each other for a few weeks.” Well, it wasn’t Uncle Charlie – it was Penny vs. Billy – but the idea was the same.

However, no matter the idea, it didn’t bring in the ratings – though it should be noted that it went up against an NFL playoff game and Battlestar Galactica. Ironically, when CBS picked up the show, the producers talked about how excited they were to work with CBS because they do a good job of supporting their shows!

Still, at least from my point of view (and those I’ve talked to in an informal survey), killing the show now is much better than waiting several episodes, when we’ve come to know and perhaps even care about some of the contestants (though there weren’t many to care about so far!).

Although, I have to admit I was hoping to see Penny get her comeuppance. Indeed, sources inside the production have indicated to RealityNewsOnline that what we saw of Penny was just the tip of the iceberg. We were getting ready to open a whole new wing of the Reality TV Hall of Shame just for her. However, there is no news yet on whether we will find out who won or any further information.

For now, CBS is filling The Will’s timeslot with a Cold Case repeat. When Survivor returns early in February and takes back its timeslot, it is likely that Wickedly Perfect, now showing on Thursdays, will slip into the Saturday slot and hopefully retain a good portion of its audience.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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