ABC Scraps John Stamos Dramedy ‘Members Only’ (Exclusive)

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Another straight-to-series pickup is getting the ax.

ABC will not move forward with its Susannah Grant drama series Members Only, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The cast was informed Saturday that the network did not want to move ahead with the series starring John Stamos and Breaking Bad‘s Betsy Brandt.

Originally picked up straight to series in January, American Hustle‘s David O. Russell and Erin Brockovich‘s Grant were attached to co-write and exec produce the 13-episode drama.

See more Faces of Fall 2014

A month later, Russell exited the project — formerly known as The Club — that was poised to be his first TV project.

The drama was described as an upstairs/downstairs soap centered on a private country club. Boris Kodjoe, Natalie Zea and Luke Mitchell co-starred.

Grant penned the script and exec produced the CBS Television Studios and ABC Studios co-production. Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly were also on board to exec produce. 

ABC’s midseason roster also includes hourlong soap Astronaut Wives Club, Captain America spinoff Agent Carter, John Ridley‘s American Crime, The Whispers and Ryan Phillippe‘s Secrets and Lies as well as comedies Galavant and Fresh Off the Boat. (Only Agent Carter, American Crime, Secrets and Galavant have been scheduled thus far.)

Members Only becomes the latest straight-to-series pickup to get the ax. NBC dropped Wizard of Oz mini Emerald City, Fox’s ancient Egyptian entry Hieroglyph and NBC comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt — also picked up straight to series — just moved to Netflix with a two-season order. (For its part, NBC also dropped comedy Mission Control as the network focuses on drama for its midseason fare.) Straight-to-series pickups have become increasingly common as broadcast networks compete for projects in a crowded and competitive landscape.

The decision to drop Members Only comes as ABC has had a strong fall with drama fare, launching the season’s biggest hit with Pete Nowalk‘s Shonda Rhimes-produced Viola Davis starrer How to Get Away With Murder, and picking up drama Forever for a full season.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit

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