Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there will be, though that apparently has little to do with author Robert B. Parker's death.

Michael Brandman, who produces the Jesse Stone telefilms for CBS along with series star Tom Selleck, told "Variety" magazine in the spring, shortly after the most recent one aired, that CBS doesn't want to make any more.

He said the network isn't interested because, though the ratings are strong, they skew older than the network would like, faring poorly in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic most coveted by advertisers.

"Both of us are surprised CBS was so wedded to those (younger) demographics," he told "Variety" in May. "It's really hard for us to grasp."

The network's argument is that it's getting out of the TV movie business. The fact that CBS canceled its long-running affiliation with the Hallmark Hall of Fame production house last year is further proof to that effect.

One thing's for sure: it's not because the producers are running out of Jesse Stone stories. Indeed, out of the eight films produced, only the first four were based directly on novels -- the other four were penned by Brandman and Selleck. Parker wrote five other Stone novels that weren't used.

That may seem like a slap in the face to the detective-lit legend, but his estate, at least, was happy with Brandman's treatment of the character -- it announced, a year after Parker's death, that it would give the rights to Brandman to start writing Jesse Stone novels as well. Two have been released since.

For his part, Selleck says he isn't finished with the character either. Even if CBS isn't interested in producing another Jesse Stone film, Selleck says that doesn't mean another won't happen.

"I'm not sure whether this is the last 'Jesse' or not," he told the NBC-affiliated blog PopcornBiz. "I don't think it will be, because there are so many other markets, cable and everything."

And, actually, he didn't seem quite as convinced that CBS was finished with the series. "CBS hasn't ordered another one. That's nothing new. They always seem to order them one at a time even though we kind of hit home runs."

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