| WHAT TO WATCH

HBO Benches 'Arli$$'

Monday, October 21, 2002

10:00 PM PT

HBO has decided not to renew "Arli$$," ending the show's run after seven seasons.

The comedy, starring Robert Wuhl as sports agent Arliss Michaels, premiered in 1996 and helped bridge the gap between earlier original series the pay-cable network aired and the more sophisticated fare it offers now.

Despite the fact that "Arli$$" earned its best-ever ratings for the season that ended Sept. 8, however, HBO decided it was time for the show to go.

"Our feeling was [the series] was a success by anybody's standards," HBO chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht tells The Hollywood Reporter. "Things can't stay on forever, and it seemed that this was a good place to finish the show."

The final episode saw the usually hyper-stressed Arliss leaving his agency in the hands of his associates (played by Jim Turner, Michael Boatman and Sandra Oh) while he went off to do some soul-searching.

The show's cast and crew knew that the recently completed season would likely be the show's last. Its solid ratings -- likely helped by lead-in "Sex and the City" -- led HBO to consider ordering additional episodes, but the network ultimately decided to stick to its original plan.

Wuhl, who created "Arli$$" and was one of its executive producers as well as its star, will likely develop other projects for HBO.