NBC has shaken up its midseason schedule in an attempt to rebuild its once-dominant “Must-See TV” Thursday-night lineup.
The big winner is “My Name Is Earl,” which will move from Tuesday to Thursday beginning the week of Jan. 2.
“Earl,” one of TV’s top-rated new comedies and a critical favorite, will air at 9 p.m. in the timeslot once occupied by “Seinfeld.” It will be followed by “The Office,” which also moves from its current Tuesday-night perch.
The January shakeup also affects ratings-challenged “Friends” spinoff “Joey,” starring Matt Le Blanc. The sitcom, now in its second season, will be yanked from the schedule, along with “The Apprentice.”
NBC says both shows will return after the network’s February coverage of the Winter Olympics – but just where they’ll end up is anyone’s guess, since NBC isn’t saying.
In an attempt to further bolster its flagging Thursday-night lineup, NBC will premiere the buddy sitcom “Four Kings,” which will be sandwiched between “Will & Grace” and “Earl” at 8:30 p.m.
In other moves, veteran sitcom “Scrubs” – which wasn’t on the fall schedule – returns with back-to-back episodes airing Tuesdays (8 p.m.).
NBC also tinkered with its Friday lineup, moving “Dateline” to 9 p.m. and adding two new shows, “Most Outrageous TV Moments” (8 p.m.) and “The Book of Daniel” (10 p.m.), starring Aidan Quinn and Ellen Burstyn.
Friday-night reality show “Three Wishes” will air through next Friday (Dec. 9) – but its fate beyond that remains undetermined.