Deadwood Dead? 5/29/06

Fans of cult US TV western series Deadwood are about to be broken hearted - the show's upcoming third season will be its last.

Creator David Milch has turned down the chance to film a shortened fourth season, preferring, instead, to end the show, set in the late 1800s, at the conclusion of its upcoming run.

Disappointed Milch says, "I'm not competent enough to assess what combination of circumstances appears today to have curtailed (the series)," but he has hinted that the budget may have upset network bosses at HBO - each one-hour episode took up to 16 days to shoot and cost an estimated $5 million per episode, more than twice that of most hour-long dramas.

Fans had an inkling that the show was almost over last week (ends26MAY06) when cast member W Earl Brown revealed the sets were being dismantled in a posting on the series' website.

He wrote, "I don't know where they are headed after the dismantling - to storage or to the dump."

The show remains a huge hit - in two seasons, it has won the prestigious Peabody Award, five Emmy Awards and British star Ian McShane picked up a Best Actor Golden Globe for his portrayal of foul-mouthed gang boss Al Swearengen.