Fans launch campaign to save ‘Don’t Trust the B---- in Apt. 23’

Fans of “Don’t Trust the B---- in Apt. 23” would like to serve ABC a smackwich.

Since news leaked Tuesday that the network is canceling the sitcom, fans have risen up in support of the show, which stars Krysten Ritter as Chloe, an amoral party girl in New York. Among Chloe’s favorite expressions: “Smackwich,” used at times when she slaps both sides of a victim’s face simultaneously.

“So upsetting when terrible shows like ‘Big Bang’ and ‘Two [and a Half] Men’ are still on the air and a smart show like this gets canceled,” one user wrote on the Facebook page “Save ‘Don’t Trust the B in Apt 23,’” which was started in late December (fans were beginning to worry about ABC’s lack of vocal support for the show even then) and has nearly 3,000 likes.

“Don’t Trust the B(oss) at ABC Entertainment programming,” sniped another user.

The venting may make fans feel better, but such campaigns often have little effect on programmer decision-making, which is typically dictated more by cost/benefit analysis than by symbolic displays of mass affection. Fans have, however, claimed some victories in the past. “Roswell” was renewed by the old network UPN in 2000 after viewers sent in bottles of Tabasco sauce (a reference to the dining habits of the show’s aliens). And in 2008, fans claimed credit for CW’s renewal of “Reaper.”

What do you think of “Don’t Trust the B---- in Apt. 23”?

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Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT