Fox revokes charter of ill-received ‘club’

David E. Kelley show canceled after just two episodes

Fox’s “girls club” won’t be accepting any new members.

Not that it had many to begin with.

The ax fell Tuesday on the new Fox drama series from writer-producer David E. Kelley after just two airings.

It’s the first new show Fox canceled this season.

The show about three young women lawyers who work and live together in San Francisco drew just 5 million viewers in its second outing this week, finishing behind five other networks in the 8 p.m. CST hour, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The “girls club” audience was down 15 percent from its dismal premiere the previous week, and the show lost more than half those viewing its lead-in, “Boston Public,” Kelley’s other Fox show.

Fox executives were planning to talk with Kelley Tuesday about whether to air one more episode or pull the show before the November sweeps the month when the networks trot out their best programming because local stations use sweeps ratings to set future ad rates.

But viewers definitely won’t see Kelley’s “girls” crack case files after next week.

Fox will fill the 8 p.m. Monday hour with reality specials. The specials could buy time until “American Idol II” is ready to go in January. A new edition of the musical talent search is already in production.

Kelley’s “girls club,” which got brutal reviews from TV critics, is a rare failure for the Emmy Award-winning show creator responsible for such hits as “The Practice,” “Ally McBeal,” “Chicago Hope” and “Picket Fences.”