Enterprise will reportedly have a new companion series next season.

The Twilight Zone is set to be officially cancelled at UPN's upfront presentation in New York tomorrow, industry sources told the Hollywood Reporter. Its replacement as Enterprise's companion series is likely to be Jake 2.0, a new genre offering about a geeky technician who becomes a weapon for the National Security Agency (story).

Although Trek has been a mainstay on Wednesday nights for many years, there is now some speculation Enterprise could be moved to Tuesday. Sources told the Hollywood Reporter UPN may choose to shift Enterprise and Jake 2.0 in order to avoid competition with the WB's Smallville on Wednesday evenings (story).

Zone will be the second Enterprise lead-out series to be cancelled in as many years, after Special Unit 2 was axed at the end of last season. While Enterprise has a built-in audience by virtue of its Star Trek connection, its companion shows have struggled to attract viewers. The Twilight Zone lost an average of 35% of Enterprise's audience this season, and regularly ranked among one of the least-watched programmes on television.

Several Trek alumni were involved in The Twilight Zone during its one-season run. Former Deep Space Nine showrunner Ira Steven Behr served as executive producer, while other DS9 writers, including Robert Hewitt Wolfe and Hans Beimler, penned instalments of the series. Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker) directed the pilot, and other episodes were helmed by Trek veterans Allan Kroeker and Winrich Kolbe.

With the departure of Buffy The Vampire Slayer at the end of the season, and the axing of Haunted and The Twilight Zone, UPN looks to be concentrating on comedy in the 2003-2004 season. The network will reportedly greenlight four new sitcoms at its upfront presentation tomorrow.

The comedies set to get the nod are: All of Us, from film star Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith; Opposite Sex, starring rapper Eve; Rock Me Baby, about twentysomething parents; and an untitled comedy about two brothers who sport mullet haircuts (previously called Mullet Brothers). With these new sitcoms added to the schedule, UPN will have eight comedies in its 2003-2004 primetime line-up, together with two dramas, Enterprise and Jake 2.0.

Please note that this information has not yet been officially confirmed by UPN, with the network scheduled to announce its fall line-up tomorrow. The original article can be found here.

Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
 Add TrekToday RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!