Three Canned Shows Score DIRECTV Slots

EL SEGUNDO: DIRECTV has entered into an agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution to broadcast three short-lived series—Smith, The Nine and Eyes—all of which were cancelled before all the episodes had aired.

The shows, including never-before-seen episodes, will air on DIRECTV’s 101 Network in prime time on Wednesday nights, commercial free and in HD. They will also be available on DIRECTV on DEMAND.

“Fans were extremely disappointed when Smith, The Nine and Eyes were taken off the air, just as they were becoming involved in these shows,” said Patty Ishimoto, the general manager of The 101 Network. “Building on the success of season three of Friday Night Lights and Wonderland, we’re adding three more shows that further build our portfolio of quality television you can’t see anywhere else.”

On April 8, Smith, the action-adventure crime drama for CBS in 2006 starring Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Simon Baker and Shohreh Aghdashloo, will return with seven episodes, including four never-before-seen episodes. The series about a crew of professional criminals who plan and carry out multimillion-dollar robberies was created by John Wells. The Nine, for ABC in 2006, rolls out beginning May 27 with 13 episodes, including four that were never broadcast. Eyes will join The 101’s Wednesday summer lineup as the lead-in to The Nine, beginning July, with 12 episodes, including seven that didn’t run in the show’s original 2005 ABC airing.