TVSquad

Sigh. I knew Sons & Daughters was going to be an endangered show as soon as I saw the first episode. But I didn't realize the death knell would come so soon. According to Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Gillian Vigman, who plays Liz Walker on S&D, has been signed to the new CBS pilot that stars Tom Cavanagh.

(Indeed, this article from The Hollywood Reporter via AOL seems to confirm this.)

Of course, since the lovely and funny Vigman plays one of the main characters on S&D, it would appear this news signals the show's impending cancellation. Which sucks, of course: the show was just starting to hit its stride creatively. Or this could be one of those conditional signings, where she takes this job only if S&D is cancelled. But, either way, things aren't looking good, are they? Oh, well. Maybe one of the other pilots Fred Goss and Nick Holly are working on will have a better fate.

[Thanks to reader otmshank for breaking the bad news.]

For two guys who have never written for TV before, Fred Goss and Nick Holly are off to a fast start. Their new ABC comedy, Sons & Daughters, which airs Tuesdays at 9 ET, has been universally praised by critics (including me), and the first two episodes gave the network better ratings than it's had in that timeslot.

Goss, who also stars on the show as Cameron Walker, mostly had acting and editing credits before this project, most notably on the Bravo comedy Significant Others. Holly, believe it or not, was a literary agent who partnered with Goss to create this and other pilots. As they pitched their ideas around, demand for their services increased; an ABC executive actually pitched them the idea for this show, for instance.

There's a good reason for that, though: the show's improvisational style and realistic extended family dynamic have hit a nerve with everyone... including Arrested Development fans, of which Goss seems to be very aware. The AD issue and others came up last Friday as the two spoke to me by phone from their office in Los Angeles.