“Heeyyyy!”
That is the signature greeting of the outrageous mother and daughter on “The Parkers,” but after this year it may be heard only in reruns. The future’s not too bright for the 5-year-old UPN sitcom. “The Parkers,” starring Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughan, tapes its last episode of this season Jan. 23, and it will most likely be the series finale. When Paramount’s Big Ticket Television completes the network’s 19-episode order, it will have 110 episodes in the can-enough to fulfill syndication sales commitments to BET and TV stations led by the Fox O&Os. The studio isn’t interested in producing more because it’s expensive to make compared with the revenue that can be expected through license fees and back-end sales, sources said. UPN and Paramount are both owned by Viacom. “Parkers” is part of UPN’s successful Monday night comedy block, although it is down 11 percent in adults 18 to 49 and down 10 percent in adults 18 to 34 so far this year. Out of UPN’s seven current sitcoms, “Parkers” ranks fifth in both measurements, trailing freshman sitcoms “Eve” and “All of Us.” UPN and Paramount officials had no comment.