TV with MeeVee

Back To "The Office": NBC Unveils Post-Strike Plans

NBC has announced the post-writers-strike fate of its shows. One press release unveiled premiere dates for series returning this spring. The other revealed that "Heroes," "Chuck" and "Life" will all return - but not till next fall, when they'll be beneficiaries of "major re-launch campaigns."

Unlike CBS, the network wasn't telling how many post-strike episodes of the spring series will be produced - with "Scrubs," in its final season, the big question mark there. Sez NBC:

"My Name Is Earl" (Thursdays, 8-8:30 p.m. ET), will return with a one-hour episode on Thursday, April 3; the Emmy Award-winning "30 Rock" (Thursdays, 8:30-9 p.m. ET) will begin on Thursday, April 10; likewise, the Emmy-winning "The Office" (Thursdays, 9-9:30 p.m. ET) also resumes with new episodes on Thursday, April 10; and "Scrubs" (Thursdays, 9:30-10 p.m. ET) will come back with original episodes beginning Thursday, April 10.

"ER" (Thursdays, 10-11 p.m. ET) also will come back on Thursday, April 10 with new episodes following the complete run of "Lipstick Jungle," which concludes on March 20.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (Tuesdays, 10-11 p.m. ET) will return with fresh episodes on Tuesday, April 15. "Law & Order" (Wednesdays, 10-11 p.m. ET) resumes with original episodes on Wednesday, April 23. Meanwhile, "Medium" (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET) continues in originals.

And a postscript: Specific plans for other NBC scripted series are currently being determined and will be announced later.

"Life" Stars Talk Strike, Conspiracy And "The Wire"

NBC's offbeat cop drama "Life" is in the middle of a pivotal two-partner this week, as Det. Charlie Crews discovers more about the conspiracy that derailed his, um, life.

Crews, as you may know, spent a brutal decade in prison for murders he didn't commit, and when he was finally exonerated, he got his badge back and a fortune in damages. The zen he learned in prison makes him an oddball force on the streets, but he's secretly obsessed with finding the real killers and learning why he was set up. More details should emerge in part two, Wednesday night at 10 on NBC.

Damian Lewis, who plays Crews, and Sarah Shahi, who plays his partner, Det. Dani Reese, sat down Friday for a conference call with a few TV writers and bloggers. Besides the show, the topics included "Life's" recent full-season pickup and the effect of the writers strike...

Question: Damian, I’d kind of guessed - thought that maybe you’d be out of scripts by now and that you’d be able to get like a vacation back home in England for a while. Are you guys still filming at this point?
Lewis: Well we’re not filming anymore. We were affected by the strike. We were able to complete 11 episodes. The order was for 13. When the strike’s over, now that we’ve been picked up, we’ll come back and - no sorry, the strike is not over. When the strike is over, we will come back and complete those. And then continue to film the back nine that is - those have been picked up. So it’s been, you know, the hours are intense in network TV. I was warned about it and it’s true, so it’s been a lovely little break. But I’m equally glad that the issues are being resolved and we can all get back to work.
Question: Okay, but you weren’t tempted to just go back to England, take a long vacation …
Lewis: Yeah, have you seen the weather in England this time of year?
Question: Good point, yeah.
Lewis: I’m putting sun cream on and walking about in my shorts.

NBC Re-Ups "Chuck" and "Life" - Whither "Journeyman?"

NBC announced late yesterday that it's giving full-season commitments to ratings-challenged freshman dramas "Chuck" (right) and "Life," offering their oddball heroes 22 full episodes to win over our hearts. It's difficult to parse whether this would have happened without a writers strike, which has complicated every such decision. "Life" never seems to have caught on, while "Chuck" was a critics' favorite initially but has underwhelmed since. Just yesterday, the NY Times TV Decoder blog was wondering if "Life" was dead.

One show not mentioned is the peacock's "Journeyman," which has only a couple of new episodes left in the can, and is unlikely to produce more. Reportedly the final ep would unravel at least some of the mystery behind the show's time-traveling plot.

Read NBC's press release after the jump...

Morning Non-Strike Reading: "Showgirls" tie-in!

• Elizabeth Berkley, star of the beloved bomb "Showgirls" (right), is joining the "CSI: Miami" cast for multiple episodes as the ex-wife of David Caruso's Horatio Cane. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Just when you thought "Dancing With The Stars" couldn't get any more deliciously cheesy, they bring Celine Dion in for tonight's final performance show. Go Marie!!! (AP)
• Missed this last week, but it look like "Life" could be dead. (TV Decoder)
• "The Sopranos" fade to black hasn't cut into HBO subscriber numbers, contrary to expectations. But I think that just means people are lazy. (Hollywood Reporter)
• It took joining the post-apocalyptic series "Jericho" to get this actress watching the news. (Buddy TV)

Review: "Life" Gets Weird For An Ex-Con Cop

In "Life," debuting tonight on NBC, yet another British actor gets a lead in an American series, playing an American. Hopefully they're all sending checks to Hugh Laurie.

First, though, I just gotta say, whatta crappy title. I mean, way to tell us ZERO about the show. Sigh. Which is too bad, because this copper is kind of interesting. In fact, he's such a twitch I'm not sure yet if I want to see him for an hour every week.

Damian Lewis, best known for "Band of Brothers," stars as Charlie Crews, a big-city detective who is making up for lost time. More than a decade ago, he was convicted of a triple murder he didn't commit, and now, after years of very hard time, he's been exonerated and sprung, complete with a gazillion-dollar legal settlement from the city. He's also got his badge back, although not everyone on the force is happy to see him again.

Mostly, though, what Charlie's got is a seriously weird attitude.