Shining Star Shot Down

One of next year’s most promising HD newcomers on TV3, Lone Star, was today axed in the US after only two episodes.

It was the first casualty of the new US TV season and arguably the most undeserving, judging by the premiere’s wit, style and intrigue.

About a Texas con man who leads a double-life, complete with two wives, it managed to make a scoundrel sympathetic and boasted a cast that included Jon Voight, Friday Night Lights’ Adrianne Palicki, and, in the lead role, a George Clooney-ish James Wolk.

Lone Star was one of the most acclaimed new series of the season — “tells its tale in a deliberate, well-written and subtly acted way” (Washington Post), “the strongest TV newcomer of the season” (Boston Globe) — but Fox couldn’t justify keeping it on air after the first two episodes were “Texas-sized bombs” in the ratings.

The axe came after five had been completed; chances are these will turn up late-night on TV3 but not in a hurry.