TCA 2012: CW President on 'Ringer's' Failure: 'Less May Be More'

Michael Desmond/The CW

"Ringer"

The biggest lesson learned from Ringer for the CW: less is more.

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Network president Mark Pedowitz was candid about the failure of the ambitious Sarah Michelle Gellar-led series, which he touted heavily last summer.

"The fans are still writing me, they want it desperately," said Pedowitz during the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour session Monday morning.

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If he were to do it over again, Pedowitz admitted that the hourlong drama about twins may be better off with a more cable-friendly model. Translation: a shorter run.

"One of the things you learn about the level of these serialized shows is less may be more," he said. "Twenty-two [episodes] might have been too many. So if there's a consideration to redo it, we'd probably go anywhere from six to 13."

As Pedowitz confesses, Ringer "was not performing as well as we had hoped to on the digital online spaces and social media space."

Though Ringer may be no more, Gellar -- who also served as an executive producer on the series -- and the CW "have had many discussions since May," he said.

Pedowitz alluded to the possibility that the two parties could reteam in some capacity in the near future. "When she's ready, she would love to come back to the CW and we would love to have her at the CW either as an actress or a producer," he said.

E-mail: Philiana.Ng@thr.com