TV Bulletin Board (Nov. 26)
11/26/07 20:18
By ED BARK
The ongoing writers' strike hasn't deterred NBC from granting full-season pickups to two worthy recipients.
Freshman series Chuck and Life each are getting nine more episodes, bringing their totals to full-season runs of 22. That's assuming that the strike will be resolved in time to get those hours into production and on the air this season.
Peacock entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman says Life and Chuck "stand out in a crowded TV landscape because they are smart, well-produced series with incredibly talented casts. Both shows are hitting their stride creatively."
Neither is a hit yet, but both are in tough time slots. Chuck has gone against ABC's Dancing with the Stars on Monday nights while Life is scheduled opposite CBS' CSI: NY. Audiences especially have held steady for Life, which has been showing slow growth in recent weeks.
***The CW's America's Next Top Model will change a judge in its 10th "cycle," supplanting Twiggy with Paulina Porzikova.
PP appeared on ABC's Dancing with the Stars earlier this year, but became a first-round evictee. The evictees roll down hill, though, in this case to CW. Fellow first-round punchout Kenny Mayne of ESPN ended up hosting ABC's barely seen Fast Cars & Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race before resurfacing on Dancing this season as a mock commentator.