With ratings far below even the network's worst predictions, Fox could pull the plug on production for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" as early as this week.

The network has been disappointed by "Sarah Connor's" numbers so far this season, and some executives feel that the show is dragging down numbers for "Prison Break," which airs as a lead-out.

"Audiences just aren't responding to the show," a Fox source tells Airlock Alpha. "Our biggest surprise are the 18-to-49s [a key advertising demographic], those numbers are in the toilet."

This would be bad news for "Sarah Connor," which had a strong first season despite airing just nine episodes in light of the Writers Guild of America strike. The show debuted at mid-season with an 11.1 rating/16 share -- the highest premiere of any genre show last season -- following an NFL playoff game, but quickly lost a good portion of its audience. By the time it was all said and done, "Sarah Connor" overnights averaged a 5.6/9, half of the premiere audience, with ratings reaching as low as a 4.5/7 at once point.

Getting a 4.5/7 could almost be a lifesaver for "Sarah Connor" right now, as the show hasn't even come close to reaching that number. After four episodes, the highest "Sarah Connor" has reached is a 4.1/6, and is averaging a 3.7. That's 34 percent off its audience average from the previous year.

Audience stability has been slightly better than it was last year following the series premiere spike, but stability so far this year has been slipping for "Sarah Connor." Its Stability Index Rating, as determined by Airlock Alpha using a comparison of its season high versus its average overnight rating, gave "Sarah Connor" a 50.5 -- by far the worst of any show last season. This year, however, it's at a much better 90.2 rating, but has been steadily becoming more and more unstable each week.

So what will happen?

"All I can say is that production will likely stop, and I would think that Fox might try to air some of the episodes already in the can," the source said. "But I don't know. They don't want to lose 'Prison Break,' so there could be some schedule shuffling in the future."

Of course, none of this has been confirmed by Fox, so treat this as rumor.

"Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

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