"The Riches" Reduced; "Dirt" Too

FX has scaled back the episode orders for two sophomore dramas set to launch in the next few months.

Both Dirt and The Riches, whose production was impacted by the writers strike, have had the episodic order for their second seasons reduced to seven episodes apiece, following FX's decision not to produce any more installments of their series after the strike has ended.

Both productions ran out of scripts during December and will have to wrap their sophomore seasons without any resolution to their current storylines.

The basis for FX's decision to cut back their Season Two orders is said to be pure economics and will not impact either series' shot at getting a third season order. But let's be realistic here. Neither series was a smash hit in the ratings their freshman year (though I do love The Riches and miss it terribly), so the creators of both series were left with quite a lot to prove to the network suits and the critics.

Dirt's second season is scheduled to launch on March 2nd. (Those animated promos that FX is running seem more interesting than the series itself.) As for The Riches, the cabler is expected to make an announcement about an airdate sometime next week.

Stay tuned.