So much for a spinoff?

Contact Music thinks Ian McShane might be hinting that his character could be killed off at the end of Deadwood's run.

British actor IAN MCSHANE has hinted his villainous DEADWOOD character will be killed off when the gritty western series ends next year (07). The gruff SEX BEAST star has become the bar owner TV fans love to hate in his role as tough-talking AL SWEARENGEN on the Wild West drama, but he doesn't think the character will survive the final shows.

He says, "Deadwood burned down a couple of times before it finally burned down in 1899. That was the end of the Gold Rush town, as it was known. "I'm told my character died in the stockyards in Denver. Who knows what DAVID MILCH (creator and writer) will come up with?"

I think that's stretching a bit, based on what McShane actually said. But hey, that headline ("McSHANE'S DEADWOOD VILLAIN TO BE KILLED OFF?") got me to check it out.

This would kill my idea for a sitcom called "Swearengen."