'The Nine' Gets Time on ABC

Finale episodes set for August run; 'Knights' also back

Viewers will finally get a chance to see how "The Nine" ends -- if not necessarily how it ends -- starting next month.

ABC is bringing back the drama, one of the casualties of last season's Serialized Drama Massacre, for a summer burnoff starting Wednesday, Aug. 1. It will return to the 10 p.m. ET Wednesday spot it previously occupied last fall.

The network will also bring back its comedy "The Knights of Prosperity," at least for one week. The bulk of its episodes aired last winter, but one of the few remainders from its order, titled "Operation: Rent Money," is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 8.

"The Nine," about the survivors of a hostage standoff following a botched bank robbery, debuted to critical acclaim last fall, but audiences didn't warm to it. It averaged a shade over 8 million viewers in its initial run, fumbling more than half the audience from its "Lost" lead-in.

It's unclear whether the show will resolve its central mystery -- what happened during the hostage standoff -- in the remaining six episodes, which are scheduled to run through Sept. 5. Discussing the show's fate back in January, ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson noted that "because it wasn't designed to end at the end of the 13 ... it doesn't answer that specific question."

Given that a substantial portion of the show's cast -- Tim Daly ("Private Practice"), Kim Raver ("Lipstick Jungle"), Lourdes Benedicto ("Cashmere Mafia") and Chi McBride ("Pushing Daisies") among them -- have since moved on to other shows, a resolution may not be in the offing.