Arliss Michaels, the fictional sports agent portrayed by Robert Wuhl on the
Home Box Office comedy series, has cut his final deal.
The premium network has elected not to pick up an eighth season of
Arli$$.
The series' seventh season was its best from a viewership perspective, as the
show averaged an 8.1 rating and 12 share within HBO's universe.
Its concluding installment Sept. 8 produced a 9.7 rating/14 share.
All told, HBO aired 80 original Arli$$ episodes during its run.
"Our feeling was [that Arli$$] was a success by anybody's standard," HBO chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht said in a prepared statement.
"Things can't stay on forever, and it seemed this was a good place to end the
show," Albrecht added.
Creatively, the show finished with Michaels leaving his office and cell phone
unattended as he did some soul-searching following the death of a friend.
The show was on the verge of cancellation seasons ago.
Albrecht, HBO president of original programming at the time, was set to pull
the plug.
However, Albrecht, according to an HBO spokesman, gave it a reprieve after
the executive's driver championed the show.
While Michaels may be waving good-bye to HBO, Wuhl, who also created and
executive-produced the show, is not.
He is expected to develop a new series and explore other projects for HBO,
according to sources.
