NBC Renews ‘Friday Night Lights’
Posted on April 3, 2008
Friday Night Lights has officially been renewed by NBC in their early “in-front” presentation, which details the network’s 2008-09 line-up.
Rumours had been circulating for a while about a potential deal with DirecTV, but the drama is set to return to NBC on Fridays as a midseason replacement after first-run episodes air on DirecTV in October. The third season will consist of thirteen episodes.
Meanwhile, starting from the fall, Chuck and Heroes will air on Mondays followed by new drama My Own Worst Enemy, starring Christian Slater as a father who’s also unknowingly a spy. With Kath & Kim and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit snuggling on Tuesdays, Knight Rider has been scheduled for Wednesdays at 8PM on the same night as renewed Lipstick Jungle.
My Name Is Earl, 30 Rock, and The Office keep their Thursday slots, as an Office untitled spin-off will follow immediately afterwards along with ER. The line-up doesn’t see any mention of Scrubs. Finally, Crusoe and Life will run on Fridays, sandwiching Deal or No Deal.
NBC Renews ‘Chuck’, ‘Life’, ‘Heroes’
Posted on February 14, 2008
NBC execs Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff announced this week that freshman series Chuck and Life, as well as their top-rated drama Heroes, have been picked up for the 2008-09 season, following the end to the strike. All three shows will not return this season, but will prepare for a relaunch in the fall.
“We are thrilled to be bringing back the high-energy dramas Chuck and Life for next season,” commented Silverman. “Additionally, we will be saving and re-launching our number one drama and most successful franchise, Heroes, so it will run in all original episodes in the fourth quarter.”
Graboff added, “These pickups are a sign of our confidence in these quality series and will allow the respective producers to get a head start on their creative arcs for next season.”
Chuck and Life have been given a thirteen-episode order — with the possibility of a full season if viewing figures remain respectable — while the third season of Heroes, whose second volume “Generations” averaged 13,07 million viewers (down 9% from its Season One figure of 14.37 million), is expected to be longer than the traditional twenty-two episode run. Chuck and Life averaged 8.68 million and 8.11 million viewers respectively over the course of their first seasons.
This news does not bode well for NBC’s other freshman dramas, Journeyman and Bionic Woman, as they look even more certain to be axed.