ABC Takes ‘Patterson’ Off Lineup

ABC has canceled “Bob Patterson”--the second prime-time series featuring a “Seinfeld” alumnus that has failed to survive more than a few weeks.

The heavily promoted comedy, starring Jason Alexander as a motivational speaker, was produced by Touchstone Television, which like ABC is a unit of Walt Disney Co.

The premiere of “Patterson” received mediocre ratings and was quickly dropped from there. An effort to salvage the show by moving it to a different night also failed, as ABC has experienced steep overall ratings declines compared with last season.

Michael Richards, another of the key “Seinfeld” supporting players, starred in his own short-lived NBC comedy last season, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus is due to return in a series on that network next year.

“Patterson” is the first ABC cancellation this fall. CBS already has dropped three new series: the comedy “Danny” and dramas “Wolf Lake” and “Citizen Baines.”