NBC Fall Lineup Announced

First the good news: Fourth-placed NBC has rewnewed "Friday Night Lights," all three "Law & Order" shows and the entire Thursday lineup, including "Scrubs." That should make a lot of people happy.

More good news: NBC ordered 30 episodes of "The Office," and 25 of "My Name Is Earl," instead of usual 22. More shows, fewer reruns. Smart.

Gone are "Crossing Jordan," "Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip," "The Black Donnellys," "Andy Barker PI," "20 Good Years," "Kidnapped" and "Raines." Also not mentioned in NBC's 2007-08 season release is "The Apprentice," so we'll have to see if Trump is done at NBC.

NBC announced five new dramas and no new sitcoms for fall.
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Midseason replacement shows include "The IT Crowd," with Cincinnati native Rocky Carroll ("The Agency," "Chicago Hope"), based on the British comedy about quirky IT guys, and the "Lipstick Jungle," adapted from Candace Bushnell's ("Sex and the City") novel by Lakota HS grad DeAnn Heline and her writing partner, Eileen Heisler. It premieres in January after NBC's Sunday night football at 10 p.m. Sunday, against ABC's "Brothers & Sisters."

The new shows:
--"Heroes: Origins," a spin-off of "Heroes" introducing a new character, one of whom will be chosen by viewers to become a regular cast member in fall 2008. NBC ordered a combined 30 episodes for "Heroes" and "Heroes: Origins." My guess is that there will be about eight "Origins," airing once a month, to cut down on "Heroes" reruns.

--"Bionic Woman," a remake of the 1976-78 series starring Michelle Ryan ("EastEnders") as a bartender with super powers after a car accident.

--"Journeyman," a San Francisco newspaper reporter (Kevin McKidd, "Rome") travels through time and change people’s lives.

--"Chuck," a computer geek (Zachary Levi, "Less Than Perfect") becomes a government spy after accidentally downloading government secrets into his brain.

--"Life," a detective (Damian Lewis, "Band of Brothers") wrongly imprisoned returns to the police force to work under a demanding boss (Adam Arkin, "Chicago Hope").

NBC has scheduled only one new reality series for fall:

--"The Singing Bee," a karaoke showdown in which contestants must accurately sing lyrics to popular songs, even after the music stops.

Three midseason series are:

--"The IT Crowd" with Rocky Carroll ("Chicago Hope," "Roc," "The Agency"). No scheduled premiere date.

--“Lipstick Jungle,” NBC calls this a dramedy from Helene and Heisler ("How I Met Your Mother," "Murphy Brown") about a movie executive (Brooke Shields, "Suddenly Susan"), a designer (Lindsay Price, "Beverly Hills 90210") and a fashion magazine editor (Kim Raver, "24").

--"World Moves," with dance teams demonstrating their athleticism and creativity in a reality show from "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson and the World Hip Hop Championship creators.

ABC announces its fall lineup Tuesday, CBS goes Wednesday and Fox & CW announce Thursday.