HOLLYWOOD — In the weird world of television, networks are loathe to announce they've actually canceled anything. Oh, sure, programmers pull programs all the time, but often we're told the shows are on hiatus and will eventually return.

(Which sometimes happens and sometimes doesn't.)

Other times we hear nothing at all. The shows just sort of disappear without explanation.

(Largely because network executives don't want to offend stars or producers they might want to work with again by using insulting words like "cancel.")

Which is a round-about way of getting to the round-about announcement that NBC has canceled Robe Lowe's series "The Lyon's Den." Appearing before TV critics to promote the upcoming TNT remake of Stephen King's "Salem's Lot," Lowe's bio stated that he "starred" (past tense) in the NBC series. And the actor confirmed what was obvious — if unsaid.

Lowe remained unbowed. Oh, he wasn't as upbeat as he was when he last appeared before the Television Critics Association six months ago (when he was brimming with confidence), but he was, at least, philosophical in defeat.

"I'm really proud of 'The Lyon's Den,' " Lowe said. "And, as all of you know, this maybe was not the year to try to launch a new show on a network television schedule."

(Well, that's a bit self-serving, and it's not altogether true. Networks — even NBC — have picked up a lot of new shows for at least a full season in recent months. It's not like everything has fared as poorly as "Den" did.)

And Lowe obviously believes that NBC pulled the plug too quickly.

"By the time we found our creative force, we'd been pulled," he said, adding that it was "certainly possible" that "The Lyon's Den" could have succeeded if it had been given more time. "There have been so many shows that needed some nurturing. And that's something we'll never really know the answer to."

He quickly assured critics, however, that he wasn't complaining. That he has a "great relationship" with both NBC, which aired the show, and Fox, which produced it.

So the quick cancellation was just "the nature of the TV business today," Lowe said. "And I had a fantastic memory of it. Fantastic experience. And you can't have any regrets."

Nor has the experience with "The Lyon's Den" or his exit from "The West Wing" a year ago entirely soured him on the idea of working on a weekly series.

"If it's a good part, if it's interesting and if it's a series that I feel can grow," Lowe said, "I never say never to anything."

Not that he's planning to jump back into the grind of weekly TV right away, even though it's taking his wife and kids some time to get used to him having some time off.

"My family's already trying to boot me out of the house," Lowe said with a laugh. "They've had me working for five years, and now I'm at home causing trouble. . . . It's been five years or really sort of tough work, and I'm happy just to smell the roses for a little while."

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com