No takers for 'Bad Road'

“12 Miles of Bad Road” appears to have hit a dead end.

HBO decided several weeks ago not to air the dramedy by "Designing Women" creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, starring Lily Tomlin as a Texas real estate matriarch, because executives concluded that the hourlong show was too broad for the premium cable channel, according to network sources. The series had been thought of as of one of HBO's most promising offerings for the coming year.

HBO, which co-produced the show, allowed Bloodworth-Thomason to shop the program around to rival networks, but several other broadcast and cable channels have now passed on it, most recently Lifetime on Monday.

Before television and film writers walked off the job in November, Bloodworth-Thomason and her husband, Harry Thomason, had produced six episodes of the program, which co-stars Gary Cole and Mary Kay Place.

The Thomasons could not immediately be reached for comment.

-- Matea Gold