CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- The WB has withdrawn its six-episode order for the midseason comedy "The Mayor." The news marks the Frog's second folding of one of its midseason series: a proposed "Gilmore Girls" spin-off was scrapped in June (read the story).
Pre-production was underway on the series however no episodes had been shot beyond the pilot. Frog executives were reportedly unhappy with the creative direction the show, which comes from Adam Sandler's Happy Madison banner and Sony Pictures Television, was taking.
Here's how the WB described the series during its upfront presentation:
In these troubled times, it's a brave man who accepts the challenge of taking on our corrupt and stagnant political system, and irreverent 18-year-old Jake Winterhalter (newcomer Ben Feldman) is just such a man. In the town of Colebrook, the incumbent mayor has used public office to line his own pockets for the past two decades, but when he refuses to fix the public drinking fountain, he's gone too far. Enter free-spirited Jake, who, armed only with his wit and his wrench, single-handedly fixes the fountain and unwittingly wins the mayoral election. Now ensconced in his spartan mini-mall office, Jake, his girlfriend Abby (Lizzy Caplan, "The Pitts"), best friend Pecky (Samm Levine, "Freaks and Geeks") and high school teacher-turned-trusted advisor Shipps (Jack Willis, "Third Watch"), all work together to give their town something it has never had: an honest - maybe too honest - mayor. Christine Ebersole ("Saturday Night Live"), Harry Groener ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and newcomer Anna Kendrick also star. "The Mayor" is from writer/executive producer Adam Resnick ("Get A Life," "Late Night with David Letterman") and executive producers Doug Robinson and Jack Giarraputo for Happy Madison ("Anger Management," "Big Daddy") in association with Sony Pictures Television.
Still a go for midseason on the WB are the dramas "Fearless" and "Summerland," the comedy "The Help," reality series "Make My Day" and "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?," and new seasons of "High School Reunion" and "The Surreal Life."
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