FEWER and fewer people are “Watching Ellie,” and the Julia Louis-Dreyfus sitcom is going bye-bye after April 2.
NBC says it isn’t canceling the show, which has plunged from 16.7 million viewers for its Feb. 26 premiere to a low of 9.5 million viewers last Tuesday night – a 40 percent viewer dropoff.
It’s also lost more than 50 percent of its audience in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demo.
But NBC says “Ellie” could return in the fall, since Louis-Dreyfus agreed to tape 15 episodes – six of which will have aired by April 2.
It’s never a ringing endorsement when a show is yanked after six episodes, and it remains uncertain if “Ellie” will be included on NBC’s fall schedule, which will be announced in May.
In the show, “Seinfeld” alum Louis-Dreyfus plays lounge singer Ellie Riggs. Each episode chronicles 22 uninterupted minutes of Ellie’s life – with time tracked by an on-screen clock counting down the minutes.
“Watching Ellie” was heavily promoted by NBC during its Winter Olympics coverage.
Critics and fans alike were waiting to see if Louis-Dreyfus could break the dreaded “Seinfeld Curse” – which claimed short-lived sitcoms starring “Seinfeld” alums Michael Richards (“The Michael Richards Show”) and Jason Alexander (“Bob Patterson”).
Louis-Dreyfus is continuing to tape new episodes.
“Watching Ellie” will be replaced on NBC’s schedule by a repeat of “Will & Grace” and new episodes of “Three Sisters.”