NBC's "Chuck," "Life" and "Heroes" Renewed for 2008/2009 Season

NBC announced on Wednesday the three scripted dramas that won't be coming back with new episodes this spring are renewed for the 2008/2009 season. The network also disclosed return dates for shows that will continue production immediately.

NBC exec Ben Silverman said all three dramas will get major relaunch campaigns in the fall.

"Chuck" and "Life" have been renewed for 13 episodes (the network may add more if they do well in the fall), while "Heroes" will be coming back for more than the standard 22 episodes (the exact number will be announced in the future).

Freshman dramas "Chuck" and "Life" have averaged 8.68 million and 8.11 million viewers, respectively.

In the early days of the writers' strike, NBC renewed both shows for a full first season of 22 episodes, but was forced to abandon that plan.

The 11-episode second season arc of "Heroes" titled "Generations" averaged 13.07 million viewers, down 9% from 14.37 million "Heroes" averaged last season.

NBC's other freshman dramas "Journeyman" and "The Bionic Woman" are not expected to return next season.

Meanwhile, NBC announced the following return dates for its hit scripted comedies and dramas:


"Medium" (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET)
Continues current run

April 3:
"My Name Is Earl" (Thursdays, 8-8:30 p.m. ET)
Resumes with one-hour episode

April 10:
"30 Rock" (Thursdays, 8:30-9 p.m. ET)
"The Office" (Thursdays, 9-9:30 p.m. ET)
"Scrubs" (Thursdays, 9:30-10 p.m. ET)
"ER" (Thursdays, 10-11 p.m. ET)

April 15:
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (Tuesdays, 10-11 p.m. ET)

April 23:
"Law & Order" (Wednesdays, 10-11 p.m. ET)


"Scrubs" which is in its final year will return April 10 with the 5 episodes already in the can. NBC has yet to announce if they will order any additional episodes to end the series deservingly. One of the options is for such episodes to go straight to DVD.

Meanwhile, future remains uncertain for "Friday Night Lights" which concluded its second season last Friday.

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NBC's "Life" & "Chuck" Renewed for Full Season

NBC has given two of its freshman shows, Josh Schwartz's ('The O.C.') nerd-turns-spy series "Chuck" and Wednesday night cop drama "Life" back-9 orders. The fate of the Peacock's other two rookie series "The Bionic Woman" and "Journeyman" is yet to be determined.

Season-to-date "Chuck" has averaged 8.42 million viewers, while "Life" has scored 8.04 million viewers.

"Chuck" does reasonably well kicking off NBC's Monday night schedule, while "Life" has lately been building on its flat-lining lead-in "The Bionic Woman."

"Life" however regularly finishes last in the timeslot, well behind ABC's freshman series "Dirty Sexy Money."



For this reason, the network is giving "Life" a special boost next week, by airing the first part of a special double episode on Monday night, after the "Heroes" fall finale, pre-empting "Journeyman."

NBC is hoping the additional exposure will then help the second part of the episode which airs in the show's regular timeslot on Wednesday narrow the gap with "Dirty Sexy Money."

Incidentally, ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" and NBC's "Chuck" and "Life" are the only freshman series to receive full season pick-ups since the writers' strike began in early November.

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TV Ratings: Wednesday (11/14/07)

NBC's "Life" bounced up and grew out of "The Bionic Woman" which has now lost more than half of its debut audience and it appears they are not coming back. "Life" however continues to get beaten by ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money."

The Alphabet's "Pushing Daisies" still manages to win its timeslot in both total viewers and adults 18-49. Meanwhile, its lead-out "Private Practice" appears to have stabilized at 11+ million viewers.

ABC:
Pushing Daisies (8.88 million)
Private Practice (11.45 million)
Dirty Sexy Money (8.10 million)

CBS:
Kid Nation (7.53 million)
Criminal Minds (15.71 million)
CSI: NY (13.04 million)

NBC:
Phenomenon (6.16 million)
The Bionic Woman (6.30 million)
Life (6.94 million)

FOX:
Back to You (7.30 million)
Till Death (7.36 million)
Kitchen Nightmares (6.98 million)

The CW:
America's Next Top Model (5.34 million)
Gossip Girl (2.90 million)

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"Cane" & NBC Shows Get Script Ordrers

Script orders may not necessarily be full-season pick-ups yet, but they are definitely a step in the right direction. Suddenly there is hope for CBS' Florida-based sudser "Cane," The CW's freshman comedy "Aliens in America" and all four NBC dramas "Chuck," "Journeyman," "The Bionic Woman" and "Life."

The writers of all of these shows were asked to come up with three additional scripts, except for "Cane" where CBS ordered 4 scripts.

It is not unusual for networks to order additional scripts when they see a potential in a series.

Before they make the final decision whether to give a show a full season pick-up or not, they networks can see in which direction the show will be going creatively.

This year the networks are also eager to have scripts on hand due to the increasingly likely November 1 writer's strike.

Only one freshman network series has received a full season renewal thus far - The CW ordered additional 9 episodes of "Gossip Girl" on Tuesday.

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New NBC Shows: "Life"

New drama about a cop (Damien Lewis) who's wrongly imprisoned and adopts a Zen-like approach to capture criminals after he's released. Will air after "The Bionic Woman," Wednesdays at 10 p.m.



"Life" is a new drama about a detective who is given a second chance.


Damian Lewis ("Band of Brothers") stars as complex, offbeat Detective Charlie Crews, who returns to the force after years in prison, thanks to close friend and attorney Constance Griffiths (Melissa Sagemiller, "Sleeper Cell"), after serving time for a crime he didn't commit.



Bottom line: Can a cop drama succeed airing after a dark "Bionic" update in the same timeslot where "Kidnapped" failed?

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