crzyjournalist03
05-15-2007, 04:11 PM
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/archives/115331.asp
The Upfronts: NBC adds five new dramas, moves "Friday Night Lights" to Fridays.
WHEN THE 2006-07 season kicked off, NBC received praise for what was considered to be the strongest looking slate of new series.
As we draw nearer its end, the network is predicted to finish the May sweep in fourth place.
Not a great position for attracting advertisers, but from a viewer's perspective, perfectly OK.
If the network were chasing nothing but ratings, "Friday Night Lights" and the season's best new comedy, "30 Rock," would not have seen second seasons. "Scrubs" would have perished as well.
All three are back for another year, and "Friday Night Lights" has a new, thematically appropriate home on Fridays at 10 p.m.
NBC is still a business, though, and the new season's schedule indicates two things. One, it has learned a harsh lesson about the dangers of airing repeats. Two, it is desperate to boost its fortunes with a real hit.
Long stretches of reruns in midseason led to permanent viewer defections for a number of series. "Heroes," a prime example, lost a chunk of its audience after an early spring break that lasted almost two months.
Next season its order extends to 30 hours, including a six-episode spinoff, "Heroes: Origins," which will run during the former's midseason hiatus. "The Office" stretches to a 30-episode order too, including five hourlong episodes. "My Name is Earl's" season grows to 25 half-hours.
Equally interesting is the total absence of a new comedy on the fall schedule – a first in 30 years, according the Hollywood Reporter. (A single half hour, the American adaptation of the Britcom "The IT Crowd," sits in the midseason dugout. Joel McHale, host of "The Soup" on E! and an "Almost Live" alum, co-stars.)
Instead, the network is juggling its Thursday night lineup, moving "30 Rock" to 8:30," "The Office" to 9 and "Scrubs," which has a shorter 18-episode order for its final season, to the 9:30 slot, where it can easily be pre-empted from time to time by extended episodes of its lead-in.
NBC picked up five new dramas, including "Lipstick Jungle," the TV adaptation of another novel from "Sex and the City" author Candace Bushnell. Like the HBO series, it's about three successful New York women – a movie exec (Brooke Shields), a fashion magazine editor (Kim Raver) and a designer (Lindsay Price) – navigating their rough-and-tumble professional and social lives.
It premieres after the football season ends, in January 2008, which is when "Law & Order" and "Medium" also return and will air without repeats.
Though Dick Wolf remains a force at NBC, the absence of the flagship "Law & Order" from the fall schedule is an indicator of how far the franchise has tumbled. It was widely speculated that "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," the lowest rated of the three "L&O" series, would be sliced to save the other two; instead, it's getting a full season on basic cable's USA Network, thereby keeping it alive in the NBC Universal family.
"Lipstick" is part of a new trend. In contrast to last season's dramas, which were overwhelmingly serious and serialized, 2007-08's hours look lighter and laced with fantasy elements, a few along the same lines as "Heroes."
Among the other dramas is "Journeyman," which follows a San Francisco newspaper reporter (Kevin McKidd) as he inexplicably begins to jump through time to change people's lives. Sounds a bit like "Early Edition" mixed with "Quantum Leap." This is presumably the companion to "Heroes" that NBC has been looking for.
There's also an update of "Bionic Woman" from David Eick ("Battlestar Galactica") and Jason Smilovic ("Kidnapped"), starring Michelle Ryan as the new Jaime Sommers.
Joining "Bionic Woman" on a revamped Wednesday night is "Life," the story of a detective (Damian Lewis) who returns to work after serving time in prison for a crime he didn't commit. "Deadwood's" Robin Weigert co-stars as a tough lieutenant.
And two executive producers of "The O.C.," Josh Schwartz and McG, team up again for a lighthearted spy thriller called "Chuck," about a computer geek who unwittingly downloads government secrets into his brain, suddenly making him the most vital agent in the country.
NBC also gave a green light to two new reality series, a "karaoke showdown" dubbed "The Singing Bee," which will air for six weeks in late fall after an eight-week run of "1 vs. 100" in the 8 p.m. time slot on Friday. Later in the fall, "World Moves," aka midseason spackle, will invite dance teams from around the globe to go head to head in a competition decided by viewers from around the world.
Finally, if Donald Trump was hoping to take more potshots at Rosie O'Donnell next season, he may have to do it from the confines of his gold-leafed penthouse. "The Apprentice" is missing in action from NBC's schedule, though the network did not officially say it has been canceled.
UPDATE: NBC entertainment head Kevin Reilly indicated this morning that the decision to keep or cancel "The Apprentice" will depend on how the other networks' schedules shape up.
Here's the NBC schedule. New series are indicated in bold caps.
MONDAY
8-9 p.m.: "Deal or No Deal"
9-10 p.m.: "Heroes"
10-11 p.m.: "JOURNEYMAN"
TUESDAY
8-9 p.m.: "The Biggest Loser"
9-10 p.m.: "CHUCK"
10-11 p.m.: "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m.: "Deal or No Deal"
9-10 p.m.: "BIONIC WOMAN"
10-11 p.m.: "LIFE"
THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m.: "My Name Is Earl"
8:30-9 p.m.: "30 Rock"
9-9:30 p.m.: "The Office"
9:30-10 p.m.: "Scrubs"
10-11 p.m.: "ER"
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m.: "1 vs 100"./."THE SINGING BEE"
9-10 p.m.: "Las Vegas"
10-11 p.m.: "Friday Night Lights"
SATURDAY
8-9 p.m.: "Dateline NBC"
9-11 p.m.: Drama Series Encores
SUNDAY (Fall 2007)
7-8 p.m.: "Football Night in America"
8-11 p.m.: "NBC Sunday Night Football"
SUNDAY (Winter 2008)
7-8 p.m.: "Dateline NBC"
8-9 p.m.: "Law & Order"
9-10 p.m.: "Medium"
10-11 p.m.: "LIPSTICK JUNGLE"
è
Dead or Presumed Dead:
"Crossing Jordan," "Thank God You're Here," "The Black Donnellys," "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," "Andy Barker, P.I.," "The Real Wedding Crashers," "Kidnapped," "20 Good Years," "Raines," "Grease: You're the One That I Want," "Identity."
The Upfronts: NBC adds five new dramas, moves "Friday Night Lights" to Fridays.
WHEN THE 2006-07 season kicked off, NBC received praise for what was considered to be the strongest looking slate of new series.
As we draw nearer its end, the network is predicted to finish the May sweep in fourth place.
Not a great position for attracting advertisers, but from a viewer's perspective, perfectly OK.
If the network were chasing nothing but ratings, "Friday Night Lights" and the season's best new comedy, "30 Rock," would not have seen second seasons. "Scrubs" would have perished as well.
All three are back for another year, and "Friday Night Lights" has a new, thematically appropriate home on Fridays at 10 p.m.
NBC is still a business, though, and the new season's schedule indicates two things. One, it has learned a harsh lesson about the dangers of airing repeats. Two, it is desperate to boost its fortunes with a real hit.
Long stretches of reruns in midseason led to permanent viewer defections for a number of series. "Heroes," a prime example, lost a chunk of its audience after an early spring break that lasted almost two months.
Next season its order extends to 30 hours, including a six-episode spinoff, "Heroes: Origins," which will run during the former's midseason hiatus. "The Office" stretches to a 30-episode order too, including five hourlong episodes. "My Name is Earl's" season grows to 25 half-hours.
Equally interesting is the total absence of a new comedy on the fall schedule – a first in 30 years, according the Hollywood Reporter. (A single half hour, the American adaptation of the Britcom "The IT Crowd," sits in the midseason dugout. Joel McHale, host of "The Soup" on E! and an "Almost Live" alum, co-stars.)
Instead, the network is juggling its Thursday night lineup, moving "30 Rock" to 8:30," "The Office" to 9 and "Scrubs," which has a shorter 18-episode order for its final season, to the 9:30 slot, where it can easily be pre-empted from time to time by extended episodes of its lead-in.
NBC picked up five new dramas, including "Lipstick Jungle," the TV adaptation of another novel from "Sex and the City" author Candace Bushnell. Like the HBO series, it's about three successful New York women – a movie exec (Brooke Shields), a fashion magazine editor (Kim Raver) and a designer (Lindsay Price) – navigating their rough-and-tumble professional and social lives.
It premieres after the football season ends, in January 2008, which is when "Law & Order" and "Medium" also return and will air without repeats.
Though Dick Wolf remains a force at NBC, the absence of the flagship "Law & Order" from the fall schedule is an indicator of how far the franchise has tumbled. It was widely speculated that "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," the lowest rated of the three "L&O" series, would be sliced to save the other two; instead, it's getting a full season on basic cable's USA Network, thereby keeping it alive in the NBC Universal family.
"Lipstick" is part of a new trend. In contrast to last season's dramas, which were overwhelmingly serious and serialized, 2007-08's hours look lighter and laced with fantasy elements, a few along the same lines as "Heroes."
Among the other dramas is "Journeyman," which follows a San Francisco newspaper reporter (Kevin McKidd) as he inexplicably begins to jump through time to change people's lives. Sounds a bit like "Early Edition" mixed with "Quantum Leap." This is presumably the companion to "Heroes" that NBC has been looking for.
There's also an update of "Bionic Woman" from David Eick ("Battlestar Galactica") and Jason Smilovic ("Kidnapped"), starring Michelle Ryan as the new Jaime Sommers.
Joining "Bionic Woman" on a revamped Wednesday night is "Life," the story of a detective (Damian Lewis) who returns to work after serving time in prison for a crime he didn't commit. "Deadwood's" Robin Weigert co-stars as a tough lieutenant.
And two executive producers of "The O.C.," Josh Schwartz and McG, team up again for a lighthearted spy thriller called "Chuck," about a computer geek who unwittingly downloads government secrets into his brain, suddenly making him the most vital agent in the country.
NBC also gave a green light to two new reality series, a "karaoke showdown" dubbed "The Singing Bee," which will air for six weeks in late fall after an eight-week run of "1 vs. 100" in the 8 p.m. time slot on Friday. Later in the fall, "World Moves," aka midseason spackle, will invite dance teams from around the globe to go head to head in a competition decided by viewers from around the world.
Finally, if Donald Trump was hoping to take more potshots at Rosie O'Donnell next season, he may have to do it from the confines of his gold-leafed penthouse. "The Apprentice" is missing in action from NBC's schedule, though the network did not officially say it has been canceled.
UPDATE: NBC entertainment head Kevin Reilly indicated this morning that the decision to keep or cancel "The Apprentice" will depend on how the other networks' schedules shape up.
Here's the NBC schedule. New series are indicated in bold caps.
MONDAY
8-9 p.m.: "Deal or No Deal"
9-10 p.m.: "Heroes"
10-11 p.m.: "JOURNEYMAN"
TUESDAY
8-9 p.m.: "The Biggest Loser"
9-10 p.m.: "CHUCK"
10-11 p.m.: "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m.: "Deal or No Deal"
9-10 p.m.: "BIONIC WOMAN"
10-11 p.m.: "LIFE"
THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m.: "My Name Is Earl"
8:30-9 p.m.: "30 Rock"
9-9:30 p.m.: "The Office"
9:30-10 p.m.: "Scrubs"
10-11 p.m.: "ER"
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m.: "1 vs 100"./."THE SINGING BEE"
9-10 p.m.: "Las Vegas"
10-11 p.m.: "Friday Night Lights"
SATURDAY
8-9 p.m.: "Dateline NBC"
9-11 p.m.: Drama Series Encores
SUNDAY (Fall 2007)
7-8 p.m.: "Football Night in America"
8-11 p.m.: "NBC Sunday Night Football"
SUNDAY (Winter 2008)
7-8 p.m.: "Dateline NBC"
8-9 p.m.: "Law & Order"
9-10 p.m.: "Medium"
10-11 p.m.: "LIPSTICK JUNGLE"
è
Dead or Presumed Dead:
"Crossing Jordan," "Thank God You're Here," "The Black Donnellys," "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," "Andy Barker, P.I.," "The Real Wedding Crashers," "Kidnapped," "20 Good Years," "Raines," "Grease: You're the One That I Want," "Identity."