The Bridge is canceled by FX following season 2; Bates Motel season 3 casts three new guest stars, including Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy); FOX puts in a pilot order for a Frankenstein sci-fi/drama series; NBC commits to a pilot for a Bewitched sequel; and ABC begins development on an anthology series based on the 1984 film Bachelor Party.

FX has canceled its crime drama The Bridge after just two seasons.

Despite being generally well received by critics and viewers, the series failed to sustain a strong enough following to warrant a third season. After returning with its sophomore premiere to 1.5 million viewers in July, the drama’s average dropped under a million for the second half of the season.

Those who stuck with the show will obviously be disappointed, but the silver lining for some will be that the season 2 finale managed to close off several important character stories, providing a satisfactory – albeit premature – ending to the series. In his season 2 finale review, our own Kevin Yeoman seemed to sense the show might not be returning, but credited the series for fading to black on a high note for the fans.

The Bridge producers are reportedly looking to shop the series elsewhere. We’ll let you know if it ends up finding another home.

With Bates Motel set to reopen for business early next year, the popular A&E drama added three new guest stars, casting Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy), Tracy Spiridakos (Revolution) and Kevin Rahm (Mad Men).

Hurst, known best to TV viewers as Opie Winston from SOA, will take a role that is very familiar to him as Chuck Hogan, a motorbike shop owner and ex-con with a dark and menacing quality. To give him even more in common with his old character from Sons, Hogan makes a living running illegal guns near Dylan’s (Max Thieriot) farm, clashing with Caleb, who is played by Sons of Anarchy alum Kenny Johnson.

Meanwhile, Spiridakos will appear as a mysterious woman named Annika Johnson who shows up at the motel, and Rahm will play Bob Paris, the gregarious owner of an elite hunting club who is also a childhood friend of Sheriff Romero (Nestor Carbonell).

With relationships between the main cast of characters already muddy and strained, it looks like the guest stars of Bates Motel‘s third season will further complicate matters in White Pine Bay.

Bates Motel returns to A&E with season 3 in March 2015.

FOX has ordered a pilot for Frankenstein, a modern-day sci-fi/drama loosely inspired by Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel of the same name.

Hailing from Homeland producer Howard Gordon and Crisis creator Rand Ravich, this new take on Frankenstein’s monster is described as a grounded genre series that follows a morally corrupt FBI agent named Adam Tremble, who is given a second chance at life after being revived from the dead by an antisocial Internet billionaire and the billionaire’s bio-engineer sister. With a younger and stronger body, Tremble is able to tackle threats beyond the FBI’s capabilities, but must also battle his old temptations.

While the premise sounds like a campy romp – possibly more in line with FOX fan-favorite Sleepy Hollow – the fact that the series is being described as “grounded” makes us wonder just how serious Frankenstein may take itself. When you factor in the attachment of Gordon and Ravich – who are known more for serious adult dramas – it’s hard to know what to make of this potential series just yet.

After the abysmal box office showing of I, Frankenstein earlier this year, is FOX sure audiences are chomping at the bit for another reinvented version of the classic character? We’ll find out soon enough and let you know if the network orders Frankenstein to series.

After learning that Sony Television was pitching a Bewitched reboot to networks last week, we are hearing that the project has landed at NBC as a sequel series.

Reportedly, the project – written by The Vow scribes Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein – received interest from several networks before NBC committed to a pilot for a follow-up to the classic series. The sequel will center on Samantha’s (Elizabeth Montgomery) granddaughter Daphne, a young single woman who has the power to conjure up whatever she wants, except for love.

While the original series about a suburban witch married to a mortal man charmed viewers for eight seasons (1964-1972) on ABC, previous attempted spinoffs and reboots have failed to recapture the magic. In 1977, ABC’s series Tabitha – which centered on Samantha’s daughter – lasted only one season. Decades later, the original inspired a 2005 film version starring Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman that was panned by critics and mostly ignored by audiences.

We’ll have to wait and see if NBC has better luck with Bewitched and if it proceeds with the sequel show.

ABC has ordered a pilot for Bachelor Party, a half-hour anthology series loosely based on the 1984 film of the same name.

Co-created by New Girl writer/producers J.J. Philbin and Josh Malmuth, the comedy examines and explores relationships and marriage, focusing on the stories of three couples: one engaged, another recently divorced, and a third beginning to fall in love. The show will also involve the couples participating in the hot mess that is the modern-day co-ed bachelor/bachelorette party.

Envisioned as an anthology series, each season will center on a different wedding party. Schedule permitting, Jason Winer (Modern Family) and Max Winkler (New Girl) are planning to alternate as the show’s directors. The two will also serve as co-executive producers, along with New Girl star Jake Johnson.

We’ll pass along more info on ABC’s Bachelor Party show as it becomes available.

http://screenrant.com/bewitched-nbc-...e-fx-canceled-