Fox sitcoms being axed

PASADENA, Calif. — For those of you scoring at home, here's the rundown on Fox sitcoms: "That '70s Show," canceled; "Malcolm in the Middle," canceled; "Arrested Development," probably canceled.

The first two will be getting big send-offs this spring; "Arrested" will air what are finally its final four episodes in a two-hour block on Friday, Feb. 10.

It's not completely a done deal, but it's almost done.

"I have to be frank with you — it is highly unlikely the show is coming back," said Fox Entertainment president Peter Ligouri. "But no definitive final answer has been made on that."

Just as there is no definitive answer to whether another network — possibly ABC, possibly Showtime — might pick the show up.

"It is regrettable that we could not find the audience that that show deserved," Ligouri said. "It is, in fact, a (Fox) studio property. If there's interest at other networks, it's the studio's right and (executive producer) Mitch's (Mitch Hurwitz) right to move that on and put that up to bid."

And, while some have questioned how realistic a move to Showtime might be, Ligouri isn't one of them. (Although, remember, Fox has a vested interest in keeping the show alive.)

"Again, I know nothing about those negotiations," Ligouri said. "But if you just look at it as an outside observer, from a numbers standpoint, if Showtime were able to migrate the absolute numbers that 'Arrested' gets on Fox to Showtime, that would be by far and away its No. 1 show.

"So as far as hearing those rumors and saying, 'Does that make sense for a Showtime?' — strategically, numerically, quantitatively, probably."

Some have suggested that "Arrested" might be a good fit on Fox's sister cable network, FX, but that ignores the realities of the TV business. "We have thought about how to work that out," Ligouri said. "The biggest difficulty for a network like FX is, 'Arrested Development' is an expensive show. And it's way more difficult to make the economics of that show work on FX versus another network broadcaster."

Including Showtime, for that matter.

IT'S NOT LIKE it's even a minor surprise that "Malcolm" and "That '70s Show" are leaving the air — their ratings have waned; the cast of the former have grown from boys to men; the cast of the latter has been depleted by actors' departures.