TVSquad

I'd like to say I'm surprised by this, but I'm not. ABC has canceled Men in Trees. Despite being one of the genuinely sweet and funny comedy/dramas on the network -- one that's more rooted in reality than flights of whimsy and pretentiousness -- Men in Trees has struggled to find a home on ABC. It's been shuttled about from day to day, time slot to time slot, in and out of the line up so that it became a gypsy. How were you as a viewer to invest in the romantic adventure that Marin Frist was on in the wilds of Alaska when you weren't sure when the dang show was going to air? A failed attempt to put the show on Lifetime back in March spelled doom for the show.

For the last session of the day yesterday, ABC decided to do something a little different and put the executive producers of their biggest hour-long shows up on stage. On the panel were Jon Robin Baitz and Greg Berlanti (Brothers & Sisters), Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy), Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (Lost), Jenny Bicks (Men in Trees) and Silvio Horta (Ugly Betty).

They answered questions about what it's like to run their shows, from the pilot process to network notes to the writing process to Internet fan scrutiny. Because the reporters were so eager to ask them questions, no more than one or two EPs answered a question at any one time before the next one was asked (and, believe me, if you don't blurt out your question and just keep talking until everyone else stops, you'll never get your question out). The funniest panelist was Cherry, who had something funny to say at almost every turn. The best lines, funny and otherwise, are after the jump.