Five New Dramas for NBC

NEW YORK, May 14: Five new dramas, including Bionic Woman, will be joining NBC’s schedule in the 2007-2008
season, which will also feature the return of Law & Order for its 18th season, while
Criminal Intent is heading to USA Network
for its first-window run.

NBC Universal announced its new deal with Dick Wolf for all
three of his legal dramas over the weekend. Law & Order will return to the NBC network in January for its 18th
season. Law & Order: SVU had
already received a season renewal earlier in the year. Law &
Order: Criminal Intent will move from NBC
to USA for its seventh season, with premiere runs on USA, followed by an encore
play on NBC. "With this innovative programming move, we have significantly
strengthened the already powerful USA network, given NBC maximum flexibility,
and in the process have changed the paradigm of prime-time television,"
said Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal's president and CEO. "By changing the
traditional way programs are rolled out, we have reinforced NBC Universal's forward
thinking approach to new programming strategies and our willingness to embrace
bold thinking. In the end, it is all about our viewers. And this will allow our
viewers continuing access to the finest programming across the premier networks
of NBC Universal."

Wolf said of the renewal of the long-running Law &
Order: “Creatively, the show is still
firing on all cylinders and I have no doubt that the show's quality can and
will continue for years to come. We are scheduled to celebrate our 400th
episode next season, which is a milestone that is absolutely staggering. And we
are now one year closer to my ultimate dream—to become the
longest-running drama in the history of television, beating Gunsmoke."

The Law & Orders
join the five new dramas, one new comedy and several returning shows on the new
NBC slate, unveiled today to advertisers at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
"Last year we promised a return to the NBC legacy of quality, and in terms
of awards, buzz and critical acclaim, that's just what we delivered," said
NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly. "We've got the class and next
season we're ready to add some mass, with new shows that build on the creative
accomplishments of last season and are as broad as they are good. Combine the
energy of these new programs with the bulked-up strength of our existing NBC
hits and you've got a lineup that's poised to take us to the next level."

Mondays kick off with the returning Endemol game show Deal
or No Deal, leading into Heroes, heading into its second season, followed by the new
drama Journeyman at 10 p.m. From
writer-producer Kevin Falls (The West Wing) and director-producer Alex Graves (The West Wing), Journeyman is a romantic mystery-drama about Dan Vasser, a San Francisco
newspaper reporter and family man who inexplicably begins to travel through
time and change people's lives. It is a production of 20th Century Fox
Television.

On Tuesdays, prime time begins with The Biggest Loser, followed by the new series Chuck. From executive producer Josh Schwartz, from The
O.C., and executive producer-director McG (Charlie's
Angels), Chuck is a comedic spy thriller about a computer geek who
is catapulted into a new career as the government's most vital secret agent. It
is produced by College Hill Pictures and Wonderland Sound and Vision in
association with Warner Bros. Television. The show leads into the returning
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

On Wednesdays there’s more Deal or No Deal at 8 p.m., followed by two new shows, Bionic
Woman and Life. In Bionic Woman, a struggling bartender and surrogate mom to her
teenage sister gains extraordinary powers. It is from NBC Universal Television
Studio. Life is from Rand Ravich
and Far Shariat, the executive producers of the feature film The
Astronaut's Wife, and David Semel, who
directed the pilot of Heroes. It
stars Damian Lewis as complex, offbeat Detective Charlie Crews, who returns to
the force after years in prison, serving time for a crime he didn't commit. Life
is an NBC Universal Television Studio
production. Bionic Woman and Life will be re-purposed on SCI FI Channel and USA
Network, respectively, shortly after their original telecasts on NBC.

Thursdays remain focused on comedy, with a two-hour block
consisting of the returning My Name is Earl,
30 Rock, The Office and Scrubs, followed by ER at 10
p.m.

Friday nights begin with 1 vs 100 in the fall and the new alternative series The
Singing Bee in the spring, followed by Las
Vegas and the critically acclaimed Friday
Night Lights in a new time slot.

Saturday nights will feature Dateline NBC and then encores of key drama series. Sundays in the
fall will be home to Sunday Night Football, while in January Law & Order takes up its new home at 8 p.m., followed by Medium, also on a new night, and then the new drama Lipstick
Jungle. Based on the best-selling novel by
Candace Bushnell (Sex and the City),
the dramedy follows three high-powered friends—the editor-in-chief of a
hot fashion magazine, a movie executive and a free-spirited designer—in
New York City. It is produced by NBC Universal Television Studio.

On the comedy front, The IT Crowd, based on the FremantleMedia British comedy of the
same name, joins the schedule midseason. It is produced by NBC Universal
Television Studio. The new alternative series for the network include The
Singing Bee, a variety-competition show
that challenges contestants to accurately sing the lyrics to popular songs. It
is produced by the Gurin Company and Juma Entertainment. World Moves, from executive producer Randy Jackson of American
Idol fame and the creators of the World Hip
Hop Championship, is a performance competition show. It is from Warner Horizon
Television.

Among the series that didn’t make the cut at NBC were Studio
60 on the Sunset Strip and The
Black Donnellys.