CNN reports that executive producer of the series had a half a million (view) goal that he set for the episodes on series when he made the executive decision to put it online.

Ashton shared in a vid message posted earlier, “If we put this thing on the Web more than half a million people will watch it on the Web. I want this to be the first show ever that gets more viewers on the Web than it did on terrestrial television.”

Starlet Sara Paxton shared, “It’s pretty exciting for our friends and family to be able to watch the episodes that never aired. After it was cancelled, a lot of fans were reaching out on Facebook and Twitter and asking where they could see the rest of the episodes. Now that it lives on the Internet, who knows what it will turn into. I don’t know what to expect out of it.”

The five episodes combined have been viewed about 2.7 million times in the three weeks they have been available online in their entirety. With that said, Karey Burke (Ashton’s business partner) revealed that they’re considering continuing to keep the show alive.

Karey shared, “Now that the airing of the episodes on YouTube has been as successful as it has been, there are conversations about continuing with the show in some form or fashion. We haven’t had any discussions with the CW about bringing the show back, but anything is possible. There certainly could be a short form version of the show that could live on the Web if our studio partners were interested in that and enough of the cast were interested.

Source: JustJaredJr.

Series creator and executive producer Ashton Kutcher shared, “What we feel like we’re doing is creating, in some ways, an industry first. A show that couldn’t find its legs on television, we believe can find its legs on the Web. I would bargain that people will be willing to sit a lot longer if the picture looks a lot better.”

The first three episodes will play at YouTube starting TODAY. Another two unaired episodes will premiere Monday, December 21. All five of the roughly 40-minute episodes will be shown without commercials, thanks to a sponsorship deal with electronics company Hewlett-Packard.

TBL: The Beautiful Life, also starring Mischa Barton, Nico Tortorella and Ben Hollingsworth, was cancelled while the cast were filming the seventh episode in NYC this past September.

Source: JustJaredJr.

You were effervescent and marvelous as the star of TBL. How do you feel about the CW’s decision to cancel your show so quickly?
We’re so shocked! I definitely think it’s unfair. The CW didn’t give our show a chance to succeed or fail. We had some amazing episodes coming up that we were all proud of, and the story lines were about to get really interesting, so we’re sad that no one will ever even see those! It’s unbelievable the way that they told us—we were all in the middle of work. I was sitting in the hair and makeup chair, and I’m getting my hair done just like a normal Friday—we were all excited for Friday. And all of a sudden, they got the call, and the producers had to make an announcement on set that we were done—that we were over! And I was sitting there in shock. I couldn’t believe that in the middle of work, the rug was pulled out beneath our feet. Immediately, I run over to Corbin’s [Bleu] room, and I’m like, ‘oh my God, oh my God!’ I was freaking out! And Corbin was shocked. Everyone was just devastated. It was horrible. Terrible.

You didn’t see this coming at all?
We were worried because our show didn’t get as much marketing as other shows. Everywhere you go in New York City, you see Melrose Place posters everywhere—I see Vampire Diaries everywhere. And CW, they just didn’t put any money into advertising for our show whatsoever. It was up to the cast to keep the show going, so we went to every red carpet, we talked about the show, we publicized, we did twitter, we did everything we could possibly do to get the word out about the show. We thought it was really worth it because we care about the show—we care about each other and we wanted to make it work. But if people don’t know that the show even exists, they’re not going to watch it.

Why do you feel they weren’t behind the show?
I have no idea. We wanted the same thing. We did the pilot, and when we saw the pilot, we were all so proud of it, and we really thought we had made something special. We’re a really talented group, and most of us have been working for a long time and have really good projects under our belts, and I just don’t understand why they would do this.

How do you feel about the CW’s decision not to air the five other episodes you’ve already filmed?
It’s a slap in the face! It’s almost like we were part of this family and now suddenly we’re dropped. I couldn’t even call the CW because they probably have my number on their caller ID and they’re like, ‘no don’t pick up, don’t pick up.’ It’s crazy. And oh my God, episodes three, four and five were going to be amazing. That’s what really sucks. You’ve got to have time to let a show get its legs and find an audience, especially when they’re putting zero dollars into advertising. And we were slowly going in that direction. Everyday I was getting emails from Japan and Brazil and the U.K from people who were buying the show on iTunes and were going nuts over it. And if they had just given it more time to really catch a fan base I think it could’ve been huge for the CW. I really think they missed out, and I really think they’re missing out on a huge opportunity for themselves.

And now they’re going to be airing Melrose Place in your place…
It’s hard because I don’t want to sound ungrateful for everything they have done for us, but I think especially since this happened Friday—it’s really hard for me not to be angry. I really don’t want to upset [CW President] Dawn Ostroff, because she is a really cool lady. I just don’t understand how they could do this.

Do you know how Executive Producer Ashton Kutcher feels about it?
I think he’s just as disappointed as all of us. This had his name on it, and it was his first scripted series. I don’t understand how they’ve given so many shows in the past a chance, and not ours. I mean why ours? Why us? It blows my mind. The saddest part for all of us is that we became friends beyond the show, and so we are sad that we don’t get to go into work everyday and have fun together. And honestly, we wanted people to just love the show. Everyday we came into work with a mission to do the best possible work we could do, and we did our jobs. It sucks that nobody can even see that. No one will even see the really cool things we did.

Do you have a message for the fans of the show that are devastated by this news?
Everyone that supported us—I know there’s a lot of people on Twitter who are really serious, and there’s a petition that has 8,000 signatures now—thank you so much for watching the show and for caring and believing in us. We really appreciate the fans and we are really thankful.

Do you know what your next project will be?

Are you kidding me? [Laughs]. We thought we were going to be here until December. Literally we packed up our lives from Los Angeles to New York. I spent two months and thousands of dollars without a paycheck moving to NY. And now they just say, ‘oh, peace, you’re done?’ We all signed 6 month leases, and now we all have to figure out how to get out of our leases, and I have to figure out how to get all my furniture back. I don’t know what to do with this NY furniture. We’re kind of stranded.

Source: latina.com

As was earlier reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the cast and crew were in the middle of filming the seventh episode when news broke last Friday that the show would be canceled. (Ironically they were ahead of production compared to other CW shows, even though they started two weeks late). Even more surprisingly, they didn’t hear the news first from CW brass. Nope, they heard it like the rest of us—through the media! According to our insider, the news was leaked to THR 10 minutes before executives informed producers the series was dunzo. Our source also added that a script for the eighth episode was finished and scripts for the ninth and tenth episodes were in various stages of completion.

Just like any soap, the first few episodes of “TBL” were setting the stage for all the juicy drama to ensue. In fact, starting with episode 3 the series was to take quite a sexy turn. “If they just aired the first four episodes, I think people would have been hooked,” our source said. But instead the series was strangled before it got a chance to breathe. Taking pity on us poor, abandoned viewers, our source answered five of our burning questions left in the series’ wake. WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS. If you’re holding out for an online run or DVD (though our insider said a DVD is highly unlikely with so few episodes in the can), you might want to click away NOW.

1. Who is the father of Sonja’s baby?
Claudia’s (Elle Macpherson, pictured) husband! Richard (played by Ed Quinn whom you may recognize as vampire Stan from “True Blood” or as Nathan Stark on “Eureka”) is the head of a large cosmetics company, and in the wake of Sonja’s scandal he decides to design a new makeup line called “Reinvention,” using Sonja as the face of the product. Though it appears he’s doing all of this to appease wife Claudia, he’s really doing it to get back together with Sonja. During a visit to Richard’s office, Claudia finds one of Sonja’s earrings, clueing her in to what’s going on. Sonja eventually leaves Claudia’s agency out of guilt because of the rekindled affair, though wouldn’t you know, several episodes later her new agency is bought by none other than Claudia, meaning the enemies are reunited.

2. Why was Raina’s (Sara Paxton) father in prison?
He’s the head of the Russian mob in New York and was arrested for racketeering!

3. Is Raina’s brother Alex (Billy Magnussen) sleeping with the fishes?
Alex apparently swiped a lot of money from the mob to buy a club. Raina makes a deal with their father that she’ll be a good daughter if Alex isn’t offed. Daddy Dearest accepts the offer but that doesn’t save Alex from wearing cement shoes! Alex is later done in by Raina’s ex-boyfriend Dimitri (more on him to come)!

4. Did Chris (Ben Hollingsworth, pictured) have to sleep on the floor or did he get to have a model slumber party in Raina’s bed?
Turns out the two don’t do the deed until episode 7 because Raina is skittish about sex after being heartbroken by Dimitri. And in a cruel twist of fate, the comely couple decide to have sex right as Alex is being murdered! If only they’d stayed at the party a little longer, they may have been able to save him.

5. What was the history between Sonja and Cole (Nico Tortorella)? It seemed like something was there, right?
We already know the two go back at least three years to when that photo of Sonja was taken doing cocaine. But Sonja and Cole are another pair who end up hitting the sheets in episode 7.

Man, that episode 7 must be something! Seriously, seriously juicy stuff, right? Our source also said we’ll miss Nico walking in a real Lacoste show, a photo shoot in the real Calvin Klein offices and Sonja’s halloween costume designed by up-and-comer Erin Fetherston.

The series was truly being embraced by the fashion industry, but it may have been neglect on the part of the network that led to the series’ ugly end. Our source said The CW put most of its ad dollars behind the trusted “Melrose Place” brand instead of the fledgling “TBL.” “We had zero advertising, whatsoever,” our insider said. Or at least, it didn’t compare to the deluge of press the reboot received. What a waste of the pretty.

What do you think of these juicy details? Does this make you even more bummed that the series was cancelled since it sounds like great things were to come?

Whatever the reason for its demise, the death of “TBL” has left us with several unsolved mysteries and burning questions. After the jump, check out our top 10:

1. Who is the father of Sonja’s baby?
2. Why was Raina’s (Sara Paxton) father in prison?
3. Did Chris (Ben Hollingsworth) have to sleep on the floor or did he get to have a model slumber party in Raina’s bed?
4. What was the history between Sonja and Cole (Nico Tortorella)? It seemed like something was there, right?
5. Is Raina’s brother Alex (Billy Magnussen) sleeping with the fishes?
6. Did Sonja ever run into Serena van der Woodsen at 1Oak?
7. Would Isaac (Corbin Bleu) be rescued from a life of prostitution by Troy Bolton?
8. What would have come in Chris’ care package from the farm? Long underwear? Wool socks? An ear of corn to remember his family by?
9. Would Ashton ever “Punk” the set with a super-glue covered runway?
10. Which “Twilight” star would kill Mischa in this series?

Did the cancellation of “The Beautiful Life” leave you with any burning questions?

Source: hollywoodcrush.mtv.com

After two episodes, The CW has canceled Ashton Kutcher’s scripted drama “The Beautiful Life.”

Production on the the show, which had been filming its seventh episode, was shut down Friday.

Wednesday’s episode was seen by just 1 million viewers and generated a 0.5 rating in the adult demo.

The decision comes on the heels of two reality show pickups by the network, “Fly Girls” and a Tinsley Mortimer docusoap.

The CW’s freshman revamp of “Melrose Place” has had difficulty achieving liftoff as well, but Thursday night’s “Vampire Diaries” has been performing strong. Last night’s third “Diaries” episode grew in the adult demo despite facing increased competition.

The CW has not yet announced a replacement for the “Beautiful Life” slot. The new reality shows won’t be ready until January. One option is airing “Melrose Place” encores (like the way the network double-pumped “90210″ last season). Another option, less likely, is to bring “Smallville” back into the midweek mix. “Smallville” was shifted to Friday nights for its (presumed) final season and debuts this evening.

The main driver behind the CW’s order to“TBL” was the similarity in setting with the network’s veteran reality series “America’s Next top Model,” which served as its lead-in on Wednesday.

“TBL” got a lot of pre-launch publicity stemming from the medical problems of star Mischa Barton.

In July, the show’s production also was postponed by a week because the stages were not ready.

Source: thrfeed.com