TV Tidbits 76 - Ruby & the Rockits

Bah!!!! I really AM out of the loop these days! I am bummed. Ashamed. Disappointed. I don't know what's happened to me! (sigh) :o( I am hanging my head as I type.

This probably won't affect anyone but me, anyway, but since I posted about Ruby & the Rockits earlier this year, I thought I should at least follow-up. Apparently, ABC Family has decided not to extend Ruby past its original 10 episode order. Which means the episode that aired on September 22nd was the last one... ever. Dang! I mean, I guess my mom and I were the only ones watching but c'mon - it's David Cassidy! Granted, the show itself was beyond schmaltzy... but David and Patrick Cassidy were actually pretty funny. To me, at least. If they'd cut Ruby and the blond kid out of the show entirely it would've been awesome! ;o) I honestly did enjoy watching the show over my Lucky Charms in the morning and am bummed it died so quickly.

Published: September 12, 2009

ABC Family has decided to pass on ordering a second season of its freshman sitcom, Ruby & the Rockits.

In Ruby & the Rockits, former teen icon Patrick Gallagher (Patrick Cassidy) has been living quietly with his wife (Katie A. Keane) and their two sons, teenage Jordan (Austin Butler) and sarcastic preteen Ben (Kurt Doss).

Things change when Patrick’s former band-mate brother, David (David Cassidy), shows up with David’s previously unknown teenage daughter, Ruby (Alexa Vega). David doesn’t want to give up his show-biz life and leans on his brother to help raise his daughter, who’s a rising star on her own.

The show debuted on July 21st to 1.6 million viewers and 654,000 in the 18-49 demographic, making Ruby the second best sitcom launch in the network’s history. It even built out of the audience of fellow freshman comedy 10 Things I Hate About You.

Unfortunately, those numbers didn’t hold up and the sitcom lost steam in the following weeks. While the network has renewed 10 Things for another 10 episodes, ABC Family has decided to dump Ruby after one short season.

The final episode is scheduled to air on Tuesday, September 22nd. In the episode, titled “Smells like Teen Drama,” Jordan and Ruby compete for the attention of the same girl. Privileged’s Lucy Hale guest stars as Ruby’s best friend and Jordan’s new girlfriend. Meanwhile, Ben is being bullied at school. David and Patrick want him to fight back while his mother has a very different point of view.