FOX has cut the episode order for its forthcoming comedy “Us & Them” from 13 episodes to seven, effectively shutting down production on the show.

The show, an adaptation of the Britcom “Gavin & Stacey,” stars Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel as a long-distance couple who are meeting in person for the first time, bringing their respective best friends (Dustin Ybarra and Ashlie Atkinson) along in case the date goes awry. Spoiler alert: It does.

Deadline reports that last week, the show moved up a scheduled production hiatus so the writers could work on more scripts. FOX then decided not to bring the show back into production, leaving it with seven completed episodes.

The news of “Us & Them” having its order cut follows on the heels of the network ordering additional scripts for “Dads.” Deadline notes the network was concerned the rom-com tone of “Us & Them” might not fit in with the likes of “Dads” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (though it probably could have paired fairly easily with something like “New Girl”).

FOX also has an unusually large roster of series for winter and spring as part of its commitment to year-round scheduling. Three other comedies — “Enlisted,” “Surviving Jack” and the recently picked up “Mulaney” — are due to premiere in 2014, along with “American Idol,” “The Following” and new drama “Rake.”

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I’ve updated the Alexis Bledel Fan Gallery with the two HQ scans from the Nylon TV Issue.

New Video Group has revealed that it plans to bring to Blu-ray Geoffrey Fletcher’s directorial debut Violet & Daisy (2011), starring Cody Horn, Saoirse Ronan, Alexis Bledel, James Gandolfini, and Danny Trejo. The preliminary release date set by the studio is November 19th.

In 2010, Geoffrey Fletcher won Oscar Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (Lee Daniels’ Precious).

Synopsis: Violet (Bledel) and Daisy (Ronan) are a pair of gum-cracking teenage assassins who casually snuff out crime figures in New York City, distracted only by the fact that a concert by their favorite pop idol Barbie Sunday has suddenly been canceled. Determined to raise cash for some Barbie Sunday dresses, the duo takes on a new hit job targeting a mysterious loner (Gandolfini) who leads them into an unexpected odyssey of self-examination and catapults the junior enforcers into a world beyond Barbie Sunday and bullets for pay.

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Violet is such a different role for you — lots of gunfire and action.
Well, I was excited to take on such a different character. I’ve never played a character like Violet; it was an incredible and fun creative challenge for me.

We love when women get the powerhouse roles. How about you?
I do love seeing women in action films. Yeah, I thought that was an interesting aspect of the film. Violet is also not the most feminine character. She’s really tough; she’s been through a lot, and I wanted that to show in her mannerisms and the way she carries herself.

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AB: I auditioned for Geoffrey and [producer] Bonnie Timmerman. It was the dialogue of the characters that seemed very distinct – just the dialogue alone explained who the character was to me and as I started, you know, playing around with it in different ways in front of Geoffrey, I kind of landed on a version of it that he really liked.
Then we got into rehearsals with Saoirse and … you know, once the two girls start sort of spitting that dialogue back and forth, it’s such a distinct world … it almost starts to define the world of the film by itself, just because it’s so specific – it has this unique sort of cadence to it.
But the overall reason I wanted to do this film is for me, as an actor, it’s always an incredible challenge to play someone who’s so extreme and different from other characters I’ve played.
BE: Was there any project or a particular role you’ve done before that you feel was a good warm-up or preparation for “Violet & Daisy”?
AB: I’ve worked on some films where I’ve been able to stretch and go in different directions and play characters that deal with darker subject matter. I think every time you get to stretch a little bit more … “Sin City” was obviously darker stuff, and I’ve done some independent films that never came out [laughs] in which I got to play more disturbed characters, though Violet is certainly the most disturbed of all.

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BIG thanks to Qua for these goodies! New stills in the Alexis Bledel Fan Gallery from the Us and Them pilot.

5. Alexis Bledel, “Us & Them”: If only for Bledel’s reference to New York Club denizens as “Angry Giraffe Women” – and, if I’m being honest, for the chance to see Jason Ritter be adorable and confused – I’m willing to give this romantic comedy a shot. We watched Rory Gilmore grow up. This is our shot to watch her navigate New York, dating and a seriously overprotective family.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/22/2910579/five-women-were-excited-to-see.html#storylink=cpy