-By A.J. Frutkin

Following the WB's unofficial cancellation last week of its Batgirl action-drama Birds of Prey, executive producer Brian Robbins remained silent. Until now, that is.

Robbins, who, along with Mike Tollin, oversees Birds of Prey, told Mediaweek that WB entertainment president Jordan Levin "didn't have faith in the show," and that Levin expressed "buyers' remorse" from the beginning.

"I think [Jordan] was afraid of the 'Batman' world being too dark for his air," Robbins said. "He was never a huge fan of the show."

Airing Wednesdays at 9 p.m., Birds premiered on October 9 to huge ratings for the WB, scoring a 5.0 in the key adults 18-34 demographic, and a 3.9/10 in adults 18-49 with 7.5 million viewers. But the show's numbers soon spiraled downward. During a conference call Monday discussing the WB's November sweeps performance, Levin described Birds' demise as a "failure of execution," adding that the network was unable to find the right show runner to pair with Birds creator--and first-time series writer -- Laeta Kalogridis.

Robbins agreed, and said Kalogridis "might have been in over her head." Robbins also blamed ABC's The Bachelor for Birds' decline. But he added, "if I was running the network, I would have tried to figure out a way to survive until after The Bachelor, and then give it a chance."

Despite Birds' failure, the WBTV-based Tollin/Robbins Prods. is hardly struggling. Sophomore drama Smallville is a bonafide hit for the WB, and Robbins remains high on TRP's Amanda Bynes comedy What I Like About You. They're also producing the WB's midseason martial-arts drama The Black Sash.

Created by Robert Kamen (The Karate Kid), The Black Sash stars Russell Wong as an ex-cop-turned-bounty hunter, who opens up a martial arts school. Wong gets involved in his students' lives, and visa-versa, which was the appeal for Robbins. "We've always wanted to do a 21 Jump Street for the WB," he said, referring to Fox's young-skewing cop drama.

The series likely will launch in March. Levin suggested it might air in the Sunday 9 p.m. slot, following Charmed. Advertisers already are voicing approval. "It feels like a good fit on Sundays," said Laura Caraccioli, vp/director of Starcom Entertainment.

Robbins said Birds' fate will have no impact on his relationship with the WB. In fact, he added that TRP has three shows in development for Fall 2003 at the WB and seven more at the four major networks. And he seems well aware that failure is just part of the business. "As you put more shows on the air, you're apt to find more disappointment," he said.