‘Law & Order’ Restored On NBC – Just Not Right Away
By Alex Ben Block
HOLLYWOOD, CA. (Hollywood Today) 5/14/07 – The trio of “Law & Order” shows have all been renewed by NBC. Just don’t expect to see two of the three on the peacock network this fall.
In a reversal of the usual program flow, new episodes of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” will air first on cable TV’s USA Network, which is also owned by General Electric and NBC/Universal.
After they have aired on USA Network, the same episodes will also be seen later on NBC. In the past shows have been picked up after airing on cable, as was the case with “Monk,” which started on USA and then went to ABC. However, this appears to be a rare case where a show will start on basic cable and then migrate to a major broadcast network.
As for the original “Law & Order,” it will not return until early next year after NBC has finished running pro football on Sunday nights. The show “Medium” was also renewed, but will not air until after football, also on Sunday nights.
The renewal of “Law & Order,” the longest running show on TV, means that producer Wolf’s dream of seeing his show surpass the record 20-year run of “Gunsmoke” on CBS is still alive. This will be the 18th year that “Law & Order” has been on the air on NBC.
After leaving “Law & Order” producer Dick Wolf hanging until the last minute, NBC not only renewed the shows under an unusual game plan, but also extended its producing deal with Wolf’s company through 2012.
Although it was not announced, sources said that Wolf had agreed to pare down the license fee for “Law & Order” to facilitate its renewal. Wolf had no immediate comment on the new economics of the shows, or whether that will mean major cast changes ahead.
Wolf also told reporters on Sunday that he is not sure of the status of former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson, one of the stars of “Law & Order” this past season, who is rumored close to a decision on whether or not to run for President.
NBC leaked the news about “Law & Order” on Sunday in advance its full schedule presentation today at Radio City Music Hall in New York. NBC had already agreed to renew “Law & Order: SVU,” which will air at 10 pm on Tuesday in the fall.
Throughout this week the major networks will all be announcing their schedules for the fall, kicking off the “upfront” during which major advertisers buy ad time in advance for the fall season.
There are reports the stalemate over how to measure and rate TV shows has also been broken, with a behind the scenes agreement between the big network and big advertisers. Under the rumored deal, shows will be rated not only when they originally air, but also for delayed showings in homes with digital video recorders for three days after the first airing.
Last season advertisers would only pay for audience measured during the initial airing even though about 17 percent of U.S. TV homes now have a DVR or TiVo type device.
NBC had only one new hit last season, “Heroes,” so this fall it will air that show and a spin off series to be called “Heroes: Origins.” The spin-off will have new characters each week, and viewers will be able to vote to select which characters remain on the show for the following season. There will be a combined 30 episodes of the original and the spin-off.
Sticking with the supernatural theme, NBC will also air a new version of the “Bionic Woman” and “Journeyman,” about a newspaper reporter who travels through time to alter people lives. There will also be a thriller called “Chuck,” about a computer geek who becomes a government agent after secret into is embedded into his brain.
In what appears to be a trend, there are no new serial dramas on the NBC schedule and only one new comedy, “The IT Crowd,” which is not even on the fall schedule. It will be added to the lineup later on.
Although it did not perform up to expectations, NBC is returning its entire Thursday night line up of comedies: “My Name Is Earl,” “30 Rock,” “The Office,” and “Scrubs.” “E.R.” returns at 10 p.m.
NBC announced a couple other dramas. “Lipstick Jungle” to star Brooke Shields, is from the author of “Sex And The City.” And “Life” is about a police officer who goes to jail for a crime he did not commit and then comes out to redeem himself.
The game show “Deal Or No Deal” will be back twice a week, airing on both Monday and Wednesday nights.
Other returning shows include “The Biggest Loser,” “Las Vegas,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Dateline,” and “1 Vs. 100.”
One show not on the lineup is “The Apprentice,” which should make Donald Trump critics quite happy.
