NBC's "Heroes", "Studio 60" & "30 Rock" Head For Spring Hiatus, "Black Donnellys", Andy Richter Sitcom Premiere
NBC has announced midseason schedule changes effective early March, sending its ratings-challenged Monday night drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" on a spring hiatus. Return date has not been confirmed. Also, "Heroes" is set to conclude its current "Are you on the list?" chapter on March 5.
"Studio 60" will be replaced by "The Black Donnellys", a new series created by the "Crash" duo of Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, for an as-yet-undetermined number of weeks.
"The Black Donnellys" follows four Irish-American brothers (Jonathan Tucker, Thomas Guiry, Billy Lush and Michael Stahl-David) who get caught up in organized crime in New York. Olivia Wilde ("The O.C.") and Kirk Acevedo ("Law & Order: Trial by Jury") also star.
It is expected that "The Black Donnellys" pilot benefits from a strong lead-in, as it will premiere on Monday, March 5 at 10pm, the same night NBC's bona-fide hit drama "Heroes" concludes its second chapter with a midseason finale at 9pm.
"Heroes" will then take a short break before it returns at some point in April with the third and the final chapter of its inaugural season. That means "The Black Donnellys" will then have to rely on its own creative juices.
NBC has already come up with a new tagline for the 3rd chapter of "Heroes" which will be used in promotional material in the same way as "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" and "Are You On The List?" have been used so far.
As for "Studio 60" the network has yet to confirm a return date for the last 4 episodes of the underperforming series which recently hit season-low (6,95 million total viewers) and whose chances for a second season renewal do not look very good at this point.
NBC has also announced its lowest rated Thursday night comedy "30 Rock" starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin will take a break effective March 15 when it will be replaced by the new Andy Richter sitcom.
Labels: Black Donnellys, Heroes, NBC, Studio 60
