Not familiar with American Odyssey, I am familiar with The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, primarily because I still carry a small torch for Christina Ricci. I'm not the least bit surprised that it was canceled, and that's not even a comment on the quality of the show: I mean, Lizzie Borden was portrayed as the protagonist, and every episode ended with her getting away with killing somebody else. I still don't grok how Dexter pulled it off, and this show wasn't written half as well.
At the risk of coming across as more misogynist than usual, the only thing that could have saved this show is Ricci taking her clothes off.