Actor Kelsey Grammer says the Fox television network is dropping his sitcom Back to You, calling the decision a surprise and a shame.

"They have let it go," Grammer told The Associated Press.

"We were told all this time we were in good shape and we were coming back."

Back to You, which screens on Network Ten in Australia, co-stars Patricia Heaton and is set in a Pittsburgh TV station newsroom.

On Friday, Grammer taped an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show promoting the series.

When the veteran sitcom star (Cheers, Frasier) arrived home later that evening he received a call telling him that the show was cancelled.

Back to You debuted strongly in the US last year with nearly 9.5 million viewers.

But its audience has slipped, with last week's episode drawing just under seven million viewers.

Television watching overall is down, a trend that's been blamed in part on lingering effects of a 100-day writers strike that shut down TV production.

Fox's autumn schedule is set to be announced on Thursday in New York.

The network declined comment on the fate of Back to You.

Grammer said he spoke with Fox executives Peter Liguori and Kevin Reilly on Saturday and that they didn't fully explain the decision.

He speculated that their interest in the show had "waned" so they were unwilling to be patient with it.

"I'm not really sure what the real reasoning is. I think they ended up with a show that was going to be a great show. It was a great show," he said.

An online petition campaign is afoot to save the show and Grammer and his wife, Camille, sent an email note to friends inviting them to jump aboard.

Grammer said he's "nursing a tiny hope" that CBS might pick up the show after talking with CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves.

"I spoke with Les the other day and he was not completely discouraging," Grammer said, wryly.