NBC announces midseason plans

NBC has announced its partial plans for midseason, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The network yesterday confirmed its January 2009 schedule, which includes a heavy reality TV lineup but no slots for Medium, Kings, Life, Chuck and Heroes.

Lipstick Jungle was also absent, indicating that the fan protests at its axing have failed to change the network's mind.

Deal Or No Deal's Howie Mandel will host a hidden-camera programme titled Howie Do It. NBC's head of scheduling Mitch Metcalf describes it as "a really funny show and Howie is perfectly suited for it. It's flat-out funny and it's perfectly placed on Friday nights." It will debut at 8pm on January 9.

The Nigel Lythgoe-run reality series Superstars Of Dance will premiere on Sunday, January 4 with a lead-in from a sports-related Saturday Night Live spinoff to coincide with the NFL playoffs.

Other schedule changes include shifting repeats of Law & Order: SVU into the 9pm Wednesday slot, putting reality show Momma's Boy on Monday nights at 10pm, and moving Friday Night Lights to 9pm on Fridays.

Thursdays (from January 8) will see a two-hour comedy block starting at 8pm with My Name Is Earl, followed by Kath & Kim, The Office and 30 Rock.

NBC is expected to announce plans for February and March at a later time, with its highly anticipated drama Kings and Heroes vying for a place in February's post-Super Bowl slot.