ABC decided Friday to sink the struggling submarine drama "Last Resort," which had been a favorite of critics since it started but was never a hit with viewers.

It’s the third time in two years that the network failed to succeed with a Hawaii-based series. "Off the Map" aired in early 2011 and was not renewed. The same thing happened earlier this year to "The River." Both had failed to generate the same magic ABC capitalized on when it shot "Lost" here for six years.

The network said Friday it plans to complete all 13 episodes ordered from the show’s producer, Sony Pictures Television. "Last Resort" shoots at Kua­loa Ranch, the state film studio at Diamond Head and at various Oahu locations that are meant to double for a small island in the South Pacific and Washington, D.C.

ABC said only three of the final six episodes are scheduled at the moment: Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 and 13.

The series was hoping for what the industry calls "the back nine" — the final nine episodes that complete a full season. At the moment, that isn’t going to happen.

But because "Last Resort" is a Sony production, Sony could sell it to another network, said state film commissioner Donne Dawson, who stressed that she has not discussed that possibility with anyone connected with the show.

"I am going to remain optimistic, and I am not going to say it’s over just yet," Dawson said. "Maybe someone else will pick it up and its life will be extended."

"Last Resort" follows the mounting crisis facing the crew of a ballistic missile submarine, the USS Colo­rado, which comes under attack from its own government and is forced to use its nuclear missiles as a threat.

The series featured a strong ensemble cast led by Emmy Award-winning actor Andre Braugher.

It was created by Shawn Ryan, who created the cop drama "The Shield," and Karl Gajdusek, who wrote the screenplay for the film "Trespass" and the TV series "Dead Like Me."

Ryan told fans via Twitter, "Still 6 more eps to air. Miracle unlikely but possible." Gajdusek added, "Sorry folks, ‘Last Resort’ didn’t make the cut. We’ll still bring you 13 episodes of kick ass, but then we take our bow. Thanks for watching."

The show is currently shooting its 11th episode.

"Last Resort" drew about 9 million viewers when it premiered in September but dropped steadily as the weeks progressed. Thursday night’s episode, its seventh, drew a series low of 5.68 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings numbers released by ABC.

The competition Thursday was typical of the entire season.

"Last Resort" was up against a powerful Thursday lineup of comedies at CBS: "The Big Bang Theory" (17.3 million viewers) and "Two and a Half Men" (13.8 million viewers) were the big winners this week, according to the Nielsen numbers.

But "Last Resort" easily outdrew NBC’s two comedies Thursday, "30 Rock" (3.4 million viewers) and "Up All Night" (3.1 million viewers).

Among adults 18-49 this week, "Last Resort" drew 1.2 percent of the total viewing audience and 4 percent of those watching TV at the time.

However, ABC said that "Last Resort" has generated improvement over this time last year, boosting its hour by 30 percent for total viewers and by 41 percent among adults 18-49.

And as it has noted almost every week when it distributes ratings, ABC said "Last Resort" remained a hit with people who use digital recording devices. It estimates a gain of about 2.3 million viewers.

Honolulu film commissioner Walea Constantinau did not have any theories as to why "Last Resort" was not the hit critics said it was.

"I couldn’t speculate why it didn’t catch on, but there have been great series that haven’t gotten noticed and, unfortunately, ‘Last Resort’ is falling into that category," she said.

The economic impact is measured in millions of dollars. In general, a network will spend between $2 million and $2.5 million an episode, with two-thirds of that staying in the local economy.

"But this is the nature of the film industry, and we are just looking forward to the next one," Constantinau said.