by Josh Grossberg Mon, 14 May 2007, E-News
After getting maimed in the ratings this season, NBC is calling in
the big guns to save the day (or, as it were, the prime time) next
fall, including a new batch of Heroes, a re-jiggered Bionic Woman, supersize Office workers, Brooke Shields and, yes, more Law men and women.
In
announcing its new fall schedule Monday in New York, the Peacock's
biggest surprise was the unveiling of a hitherto top-secret spinoff of
the network's lone rookie hit from this season. Heroes: Origins will focus on previously unseen folks whose lives are transformed when they discover they have incredible abilities.
In an American Idol-esque
twist, viewers will get a chance to pick their favorite new superhero
during the spinoff's six-episode run, with the character tallying the
most votes moving up to the big leagues, becoming a full-time cast
member on Heroes during the 2008-09 season.
Adding the new series will allow NBC extend the reach of the Heroes brand to a combined 30 episodes, with the new show running during Heroes ' long hiatus. The series took a ratings hit after returning from a seven-week absence this season.
NBC is sticking with the superhero/sci-fi theme with an updated take on the 1970s cyborg hit Bionic Woman. From a producer of the Sci Fi Channel's much lauded Battlestar Galactica,
the new series stars British actress Michelle Ryan in the role
originated by Lindsay Wagner in the 1976-78 ABC series (itself a
spinoff of The Six Million Dollar Man). The new Bionic Woman will air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. after Deal or No Deal.
The
network killed some of the suspense going into Monday's upfront by
announcing the fates of bubble shows over the weekend. First, network
programmers announced the critically hailed, Nielsen-deprived drama Friday Night Lights
would return for a sophomore season in the fall, this time on
title-appropriate Friday nights. Then, on Sunday, NBC revealed that all
three series in the Law & Order franchise would be returning.
Speculation intensified last week that NBC was looking either to retire Law & Order or its Criminal Intent spawn
or relocate one of them to basic cable. Now, the network will bring
back the flagship police procedural for an 18th season.
