NBC Seeks New "Life": The Peacock's Fall 2007 TV Schedule

With a schedule heavy on action and sci-fi, NBC looks to be angling to spread viewers from football and Heroes throughout the week with four new dramas.

Though Heroes took a small hit against Dancing with the Stars this spring, the serial's demos remained strong; it still remains to be seen, however, if the action hour can successfully launch a new series behind it after three failed this past season. Time-traveler series Journeyman gets the assignment, and may be provided a boost thanks to a surprise announcement about a Heroes spin-off. Called Heroes: Origins, the six-episode series introduces a new character each week, with one joining the following season as a cast regular as voted by viewers on NBC.com. The move cuts down on repeats for a combined 30 episodes of superhero action.

Chuck, in which a computer catapulted into secret agent mode after an accidental 'download,' finds a cushioned slot between episodes of The Biggest Loser and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. More risky may be the decision to air two new dramas back-to-back on Wednesdays in a move that mirrors last fall's Monday bid. The network hopes that a re-imagining of Bionic Woman benefits from a Deal or No Deal lead-in, and caps the night with Life, about a cop returning to the force after being released from wrongful imprisonment.

On the returning side are all four Thursday night comedies, reshuffled with The Office as the 9/8c anchor. Despite slipping ratings, the comedies reach valuable young male demographics on the biggest advertising night of the week. With tough competition from Grey's Anatomy and CSI, the network also upped the order for The Office to 30 episodes, including five hour-long outings. Scrubs had been rumored to be going to ABC for its last season, but NBC ordered 18 episodes of the laffer late last week, along with an adaptation of the UK series The I.T. Crowd for midseason. Most vulnerable may be 30 Rock, but NBC's commitment to quality should help.