LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- ABC has axed its struggling freshman drama "Night Stalker" after six airings.

Executive producer Frank Spotnitz broke the news on his production company's blog, Big Light Productions, yesterday:

"It is with regret that I confirm 'Night Stalker' has been canceled. While I�m disappointed the series has come to an end, I am enormously grateful for the experience and the opportunity given me by the network and Touchstone Television. I would like to thank our amazingly talented cast, wonderful crew, killer post-production department, terrific writing staff, producers and partners in crime Daniel Sackheim and John Peter Kousakis, the incredible Jana Fain, and all of you who watched and enjoyed the show. It was a blast."

Scheduling updates released this morning by ABC confirmed the news as the Alphabet will air the first half of an expanded two-hour "Primetime" in the show's Thursday, 9:00/8:00c time period this week.

Previously planned airings of "Finding Nemo" and the original movie "Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II" will fill the hour on November 24 and December 1. A permanent replacement will likely be announced in the coming weeks.

The cancellation comes on the heels of the show's series-low 3.94 million viewer performance (according to preliminary Nielsen numbers) for its most-recent airing. Overall, "Night Stalker" averaged 5.53 million viewers for its first five airings, making it the network's least-watched series.

In total, 10 hours of the initial 13-episode order were shot, meaning four installments will sit on the shelf.