Friday September 29 01:51 AM EDT
Studios USA boxes up 'Jack'

By Steve Brennan

LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- "Jack of All Trades" is hitting the road and not coming back, it seems. Syndicator Studios USA declined to confirm Thursday that the weekly half-hour action show is history, but its star and executive producer, Bruce Campbell, was more outspoken.

"Dead, gone, history," he told fans of the ratings-restricted weekly strip Thursday on his "Jack of All Trades" Web site.

"Jack" is half of the syndicated "Back2Back Action Hour" that also includes "Cleopatra 2525." Last week, the studio put "Cleopatra" on production hiatus and said it was evaluating different forms the show may take.

Studios USA insists that it remains "committed" to the "Back2Back Action" package but said Campbell "is now free to explore opportunities; we will not hold him back."

Half-hours "Jack," about a swashbuckling American spy during Napoleonic times, and sci-fi actioner "Cleopatra" are rated by Nielsen Media Research as one show under the "Back2Back Action" banner. During the May sweep, the hour posted a 2.4 rating average, down 31% from its stations' time-period performance the previous year. Both shows are shot in New Zealand.

"Jack" and "Cleopatra" are produced by Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi's Renaissance Pictures. Tapert and Raimi were traveling Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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