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NBC's new nightly lineup:

07:53 AM PT, May 14 2007

Newseason

On Monday morning in New York City, NBC unveiled its fall schedule to the press ahead of its presentation to advertisers later in the day. Kevin Reilly, the network's entertainment president, led the press conference, and was flanked by Marc Graboff, president of NBC Universal Television, West Coast, and Vivi Zigler, the executive vice president of NBC digital entertainment and new media.

For the fall, the fourth-place network scheduled four new scripted shows, all dramas ("Lipstick Jungle" will premiere after "Sunday Night Football" ends, and "The IT Crowd," NBC's sole comedy pickup thus far, will come on later in the year).

Here's a look at NBC's schedule:

Monday:
8 p.m. "Deal or No Deal"
9 p.m. "Heroes"
10 p.m. "Journeyman" (new)

Tuesday
8 p.m. "The Biggest Loser"
9 p.m. "Chuck" (new)
10 p.m. "Law & Order: SVU"

Wednesday
8 p.m. "Deal or No Deal"
9 p.m. "The Bionic Woman" (new)
10 p.m. "Life" (new)

Thursday
8 p.m. "My Name Is Earl"
8:30 p.m. "30 Rock"
9 p.m. "The Office"
9:30 p.m. "Scrubs"
10 p.m. "ER"

Friday
8 p.m. "1 Vs. 100"
8:30 p.m. "The Singing Bee" (new)
9 p.m. "Las Vegas"
10 p.m. "Friday Night Lights"

Saturday
8 p.m. "Dateline"
9 p.m. encores
10 p.m. encores

Sunday (In the fall, there will be "Sunday Night Football." This schedule is for post-football)

7 p.m. "Dateline"
8 p.m. "Law & Order"
9 p.m. "Medium"
10 p.m. "Lipstick Jungle" (new)

But there's more after the jump, particularly for "Heroes" fans...

"Heroes" will be back for 24 new episodes, which isn't unusual. But executive producer Tim Kring will also create six episodes of origins stories about new "Heroes" with an entirely new cast. Reilly said he anticipated that the companion series would most likely run after the regular "Heroes" season ends, and there will possibly be a viewer voting contest to get the most popular new character onto the regular show for its third season.

Other bits of information from the press conference:

-- Reilly said that though he doesn't like to talk about their internal research, "Journeyman" was the highest-testing drama they've had in five years.

-- About moving "Friday Night Lights" to Fridays, Reilly said that all year they heard people complaining, "Why isn't 'Friday Night Lights' on Friday nights?" With this move, "the mystery is over," Reilly said. A source at NBC also said that by moving the critically beloved show there, the network has set its expectations low. "A 2.5 would be fine with us," said the source.

-- Flipping the slots of "30 Rock" and "The Office" on Thursdays is meant to build an audience for "30 Rock," since, Reilly said, the network feels "The Office" can hold its own against the "Grey's Anatomy"/"CSI" buzz saw at 9 p.m. He also said that Alec Baldwin is committed to staying on "30 Rock."

-- Graboff said that some of the early pickups NBC announced  -- "30 Rock," "Medium" and "Friday Night Lights" -- were partly for the purpose of strike preparation. The contract with the Writers Guild expires on Oct. 31, and both sides expect a contentious negotiation.

-- Maria Elena Fernandez and Kate Aurthur

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About the Blogger
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Mary McNamara is a Los Angeles Times TV critic.

Richard Rushfield is a Los Angeles Times staff writer who tracks "American Idol."

Matea Gold, Maria Elena Fernandez, Lynn Smith, Greg Braxton, Kate Aurthur and Martin Miller are Los Angeles Times staff writers who track news.

Robert Lloyd is a Los Angeles Times TV critic who tracks reviews and other television oddities.

Scott Collins is a Los Angeles Times columnist who tracks news.

Denise Martin is a freelance writer who tracks "90210," "The Hills," "Ugly Betty" and "Top Chef."

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Patrick Day is a Los Angeles Times staff writer who tracks "Fringe," "24" and "Lost."

Stephanie Lysaght is a Los Angeles Times staff writer who tracks "90210", "So You Think You Can Dance" and "American Idol."

Jevon Phillips is a Los Angeles Times staff writer who tracks "Battlestar Galactica," "Heroes" and "America's Best Dance Crew."

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