Network Notes: The CW, Fox Lineup Changes, ABC Schedules 'Big Day', NBC Renews 'Heroes', Cancelation Watch; Classic Warner Sitcoms Re-done in Russia!

Friday, October 06, 2006

Network Notes: The CW, Fox Lineup Changes, ABC Schedules 'Big Day', NBC Renews 'Heroes', Cancelation Watch; Classic Warner Sitcoms Re-done in Russia!

The CW and Fox has announced line-up changes. The CW will swap its Sunday and Monday night schedules. Starting Monday, October 9, Sunday sitcoms Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, Girlfriends, The Game will move from Sundays 7-9pm to Mondays 8-10pm. That night The CW will encore the season premieres for each sitcom. The Monday dramas of 7th Heaven and Runaway will move to Sundays 8-10pm starting Sunday, October 15. Top Model encores will lead the night off at 7 p.m. Click here for the changes in a list format.

Meanwhile Fox has announced that after the Baseball season is over they will change just about every night in someway. Mondays will see Prison Break remain at 8 p.m. and new drama Justice move from Wednesdays at 9 to Mondays at 9. Vanished, which was airing in that Monday at 9 slot will get the death slot of Fridays at 8, replacing Nanny 911 which goes to the bench. On Tuesdays, Fox will swap the slots for both Standoff and House, which could be good or could not be good. On Wednesdays, Bones remains at 8 and a new quiz show called The Rich List will at 9 starting November 1. Thursdays will see Happy Hour return at 8:30 p.m. (I bet just for a week or two then it will be put to sleep for good) and The O.C. returns for another season at 9 p.m. Click here for the changes in a list format.

Big Day, a new romantic comedy about life in the wild wedding lane, will premiere Tuesday, November 28 (9:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. For more information on the series, click here.
NBC has given a full-season order for 2006-07 to Heroes (Mondays, 9-10 p.m. ET) - the critically acclaimed and #1 new series this Fall in adults 18-49 (tied with ABC's "Brothers & Sisters").

CBS and NBC is not expected to have Smith and Kidnapped on their line-ups next week, as both have struggled. NBC is expected to air the full order of 13 episodes of Kidnapped at some point this season.

Warner Bros. International Television (WBITV) has struck format deals with Russian broadcasters for locally produced versions of classic U.S. hit comedy series Suddenly Susan, Perfect Strangers, Step by Step and Full House.
* Perfect Strangers: WBITV has partnered with production company AMEDIA to produce 50 episodes of this comedy, which debuted September 25 on Ren TV in Russia, to stellar ratings. In the Russian version, mismatched roommates Larry and Balki have become Ivan (played by Artem Semakin) and Andrei (Anton Eldarov). Andrei arrives from his remote ex-Soviet republic and moves straight into the flat of his Moscow cousin, Ivan, where cultures clash between the two dissimilar characters.
* Suddenly Susan: In conjunction with CTC in Russia, WBITV is in the midst of casting for an adaptation of the comedy which starred Brooke Shields in the U.S. CTC has committed to producing 40 episodes of the series. Pre-production has just begun, with casting underway.
* Step by Step and Full House: WBITV is about to begin production on both of these series, also with Russias CTC. Forty episodes of Step by Step and 20 of Full House have been ordered.