NBC goes to bat this fall with fewer but more diverse shows

NEW YORK - NBC announced a shaken-up and scaled-down 2000-01 schedule on Monday that, among other surprises, swapped the air times for "Will & Grace" and "Frasier." Comedies "Just Shoot Me," "3rd Rock" and "Daddio" also will move to new nights, and the Saturday "Thrillogy" is no more. Seven new shows are joining the NBC schedule this fall, same as last year. But the rearranging of air times is clearly meant to stop ABC from using "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" as a battering ram against NBC's once-impregnable Thursday-night stronghold. That night has turned out to be "Millionaire's" biggest with the young-adult viewers coveted by advertisers. The Regis Philbin game show has punished "Frasier" continually since ABC put them head-to-head in January. So, this fall, the younger-skewing comedies "Will & Grace" and "Just Shoot Me" will oppose "Millionaire" on Thursdays. "Frasier" will move back to its former time period on Tuesday nights to buttress three new sitcoms: an untitled project from comedian Michael Richards ("Seinfeld's" Kramer); "D.A.G." starring David Alan Grier ("In Living Color"); and "Tucker," a coming-of-age comedy about a 15-year-old that also stars Katey Sagal ("Married With Children" and "Futurama"). Thursday night still will start with the newly really rich "Friends" at 7. They will be followed now by an eponymous comedy starring Steven Weber ("Wings") as a single guy living under a hex; Chris Elliott co-stars. "Will & Grace," "Just Shoot Me" and "ER" round out Thursdays. Monday's new arrival is "Deadline," from the studio of producer Dick Wolf, who already has two hours of "Law & Order" on NBC's lineup. "Deadline" stars Oliver Platt as an investigative journalist in New York. It follows "Daddio" (currently on Thursdays) and the well-traveled "3rd Rock." David Letterman's Worldwide Pants company is behind the new Sunday-night series "Ed." Billed as a quirky hour in the tradition of "Northern Exposure," it's about a frazzled New Yorker who returns to his hometown of Stuckeyville and decides to stay. NBC West Coast president Scott Sassa touted the diversity of the network's new lineup. "There are a lot of new genres here, a lot of shows not currently seen on TV," Sassa told reporters in a conference call Monday. Aaron Spelling's laundry is open for business on Wednesdays with "Titans." All you need to know about this hour is four words: Beverly Hills. Yasmine Bleeth. NBC will wipe out three hours of drama on Saturday nights and replace them with movies and football. The Saturday block has been called the "Thrillogy" since 1996, but over the years only "The Pretender" and "Profiler" were considered hits. They both were dropped, as was the rookie show "The Others." Taking their place is a slate of yet-to-be-announced theatrical films. NBC also will air 12 weeks of XFL football from the World Wrestling Federation on Saturday nights beginning in February. The Monday and Wednesday editions of "Dateline NBC" were deleted from NBC's schedule, as ratings cooled for newsmagazine shows this season. Also gone from the NBC schedule: comedies "Stark Raving Mad" and "Jesse" and game show "Twenty One." Just 24 programs are on NBC's schedule, compared with 26 last season and 28 programs five years ago. The five other major broadcast networks also will announce their 2000-01 schedules this week. Aaron Barnhart's expanded coverage of the 2000-01 season announcements is online at the TV Barn Web site (www.tvbarn.com) @ART CAPTION:NBC's 2000-01 FALL SCHEDULE @ART:Graphic >>>