Author: Erin Carlson

MTV

It’s official: MTV is pulling the plug on Buckwild following the death of cast member Shain Gandee.

“After careful consideration, MTV will not be moving forward with season two of Buckwild in West Virginia,” the network said Wednesday in a statement. “We love the cast and the show and this was not an easy decision, but given Shain’s tragic passing and essential presence on the show, we felt it was not appropriate to continue without him. Instead, we are working on a meaningful way to pay tribute to his memory on our air and privately.”

On Tuesday, a source close to the show confirmed with The Hollywood Reporter that MTV was taking Buckwild off the air in an effort to duck any potential controversy. The news had producer J.P. Williams fuming.

“This is the network that has shows about teen pregnancy,” he lamented to THR. “They’ll stick by a show that allows you to abandon a child, but a kid dies by accident doing what he does for a living [mudding] and they cancel the show? There’s something that smells of s— here on every level.”

STORY: ‘Buckwild’ Producer Rips MTV: ‘This Will Get Ugly’

In deciding to cancel, MTV execs also recognized that Gandee was the show’s breakout star. Production on the second season had been suspended after the 21-year-old was found dead April 1 in his vehicle, along with his uncle and a friend, after going off-roading, or “mudding,” on a remote road in West Virginia.

The network will pay tribute to Gandee on Sunday with a special, Buckwild: WV to the NYC, after airing a marathon of the series’ first season. The program was shot before filming began on season two.

“Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time for our family,” said Gandee’s parents, Dale and Loretta Gandee, in a statement. “We have truly felt all the love and know that Shain is resting peacefully. Shain was an incredible, outgoing, and positive person who was loved by whoever he met. We are honored that we were able to let the world see what a wonderful son we had.”

They added: “He was the best son anyone could ask for. As we look to honor him in our lives every day moving forward, we are happy to share some of his last moments doing what he loved best: having fun and making people laugh.”

Twitter: @ErinLCarlson

Email: erin.carlson@thr.com

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

One of the new characters Matthew Weiner introduced on Sunday’s Mad Men‘s season 6 premiere was Bob Benson, a hyper-enthusiastic, brown-nosing accounts employee at Sterling Draper Cooper Pryce portrayed by James Wolk.

As Bob, Wolk — who resembles a younger and more dashing Kyle Chandler, with his blue eyes, dark hair and wholesome demeanor — attempts to get into the good graces of Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the superstar adman he’s always wanted to meet. Bob fetches Don coffee and hangs out in near Don’s office, waiting to catch the busy, perpetually-in-crisis firm heavyweight’s eye. While he loiters, secret sci-fi writer Ken Grosgrove (Aaron Staton), apparently no big fan of Bob, stares him down and scares him away. Something says this won’t be the last we see of the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Don admirer.

And there’s something about Wolk — an intelligence and intensity — that makes him more than just a pretty face. The 28-year-old actor has racked up a host of TV credits with a leading role on the short-lived Fox series Lone Star and recurring parts on Showtime’s Shameless and ABC’s Happy Endings. The Michigan native also portrayed Sigourney Weaver‘s son in the 2012 USA mini-series Political Animals, featuring Weaver as a Hillary Clinton-esque Secretary of State. His film credits include the phone-sex comedy For a Good Time, Call … .

STORY: ‘Mad Men’ Spoiler Worries Examined: How Many Really Mattered?

Besides Mad Men, Wolk is part of a buzzy new comedy project also focused on an ad agency. Called The Crazy Ones and produced by David E. Kelley, the CBS pilot — which could be greenlit for next season — touts Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar as father-and-daughter co-owners of a firm. Seems like Wolk could balance Mad Men with a regular network gig much like Alison Brie, who plays the sunny wife of the weaselly Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) and also stars on NBC’s Community.

Meanwhile, another TV vet — Freaks and Geeks‘ Linda Cardellini — made her debut on the two-hour season-opener. Her unexpectedly dark character, however, caused much more of a commotion on Twitter.

Twitter: @ErinLCarlson

Email: erin.carlson@thr.com