NBC Announces Next Year's Schedule

[Eddie G.]

http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271|95316|1|,00.html

NEW YORK (Zap2it.com) If desperate times call for desperate measures, NBC probably isn't desperate just yet. But the network isn't exactly comfortable either.

Hoping to shake off a slump that has seen the network drop to fourth place in the Nielsen rankings this season, NBC announced a 2005-06 schedule Monday (May 16) that includes six new shows and at least one schedule change on six of seven nights.

"We're very excited and encouraged by the lineup we're presenting today," NBC president Jeff Zucker says. "I'm confident that we have addressed our schedule needs and will continue to excel in drawing the advertiser-friendly, upscale viewers who have come to appreciate NBC's quality brand of programming."

The six new shows include one comedy, "My Name Is Earl"; two unscripted series, "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" and "Three Wishes"; and three dramas, "Fathom," "E-Ring" and "Inconceivable." Notable among returning shows is "The Office," the critically hailed but ratings-challenged comedy that will get a second shot to find an audience, and "The West Wing," which moves to Sunday nights from its long-time Wednesday home.

The goal for 2005-06, according to NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly, is to "create real excitement, especially at 8 p.m., which will pay dividends throughout each night." Accordingly, a number of the changes NBC has made come in the early hours of primetime.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is what's not on the schedule: Veteran series "Scrubs" and "Fear Factor" won't debut in the fall, instead being held for "some point" later in the season. Additionally, as was speculated last week, "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" didn't survive for a second year, becoming the first "Law & Order" show not to have a multi-year run.

"Fathom," a sci fi-tinged drama about the discovery of a strange new life form under the sea, will fill the "Fear Factor" spot at 8 p.m. ET Mondays. "My Name Is Earl," a single-camera comedy about a petty crook (Jason Lee) who decides to right past wrongs after winning the lottery, moves into the "Scrubs" spot at 9 p.m. Tuesdays, sandwiched between "The Biggest Loser" and "The Office."

Wednesday undergoes a sizable makeover, with the Stewart version of "The Apprentice" taking the 8 p.m. spot and "E-Ring," a Pentagon-set drama that stars "Law & Order" alum Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper, moving into "The West Wing's" old nine o'clock home. "Law & Order" remains at 10.

The Thursday lineup of "Joey," "Will & Grace," the Donald Trump "Apprentice" and "ER" remains intact. Fridays see more change, with the unscripted "Three Wishes," which aims to help people realize long-held dreams, at eight, "Dateline" moving back to nine and "Inconceivable," a drama about the staff of a fertility clinic, finishes the night at 10.

Saturday will revert back to a movie night instead of the "Law & Order" theater featured much of this season. The big Sunday change is "The West Wing," which goes to the tough 8 p.m. slot formerly occupied by the cancelled "American Dreams."

NBC has also ordered two new comedies for midseason -- "Four Kings," about four childhood friends who share a New York apartment, and "Thick and Thin," which stars Jessica Capshaw ("The Practice") as a woman adjusting to her new body after a dramatic weight loss.

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No major changes, except I'm fuckin pissed that Scrubs isn't coming back until later.  I'm glad that they kept The Office though.

[Doggystylin]

WTF Scrubs until later? fuck you NBC thats the best show you got and you don't even know it, but hey I guess Joey made it, lol, wow