The 4400 and The Dead Zone Canceled

Posted on December 20, 2007

Veteran SF shows The 4400 and The Dead Zone have been abruptly canceled by USA Networks.

Although things didn't look good for the two series because they are older and expensive to make, during the past several months the cable network looked for ways to bring them back. But it ultimately opted to end their run. "We wish we could keep all our great shows alive forever," said Jeff Wachtel, executive vp original programming at USA. "But we feel we need to give some of our new shows a platform to grow, and it's with great sadness that we say goodbye to two shows that had a great run and helped create the resurgence of original programming on our network and on all of cable."
"Dead Zone," which ran for six seasons, and "4400," which was on for four, had aired as a sci-fi-themed block Sunday night. "4400" creator/exec producer Scott Peters broke the cancellation news on the show's fan message board.
"We've had a great time bringing you this story and submersing you in the lives of all these incredible characters," he wrote. "I wish we could go on forever, but the party has come to an end." "Dead Zone," along with "Monk," put USA on the original programming map when they launched in summer 2002. Based on Stephen King's characters, "Dead Zone," was created by the late Michael Piller and his son Shawn. Its premiere set a record for a series debut on basic cable with 6.4 million viewers. The record was broken two years later by the opening of "4400" (7.4 million), which launched as a limited series.

We are pretty ticked off about this -- these are both great shows. We think it's because of the writers' strike and that this is only the beginning of cancellations as the strike drags on. The mega-corporations that comprise the AMPTP don't care about the fans, the writers or the actors: they've made that very clear. NBC, Sci Fi and USA Networks are all owned by GE, which derives a small portion of its revenue from television. We think it's going to wipe the slate clean and start all over on television next year, as has been rumored.