Will you see them again?

Networks start making room for the new shows.

By Sonia Mansfield

Staff Writer

Published on Monday, April 5, 2004

Will they or won’t they?

I’m not talking about Josh and Donna on "The West Wing" or Ross and Rachel on "Friends." I’m talking about which shows will be back in the fall.

You see, this is network TV hunting season. The execs tiptoe through their schedules and kill vulnerable shows. Some have already been slaughtered and mounted on the wall. There’s "Angel" over there. And on that wall hangs the head of "Frasier."

I know you guys wanna start your campaign to save your favorite shows early, so I’ve done some investigating to give you a heads-up on which shows are returning, which are definitely not coming back and which are "on the bubble," meaning their fate is questionable.

So, let me break it down for you network-by-network: "Returning" shows do well in the ratings, so they have nothing to worry about and/or have been officially renewed for the new fall season. The "Bye-bye" category is made of series that have been officially canceled, have called it quits or are so low rated that I seriously doubt the network will renew it. The shows in "Limbo" are ones I haven’t heard an official word on yet and it’s too close to call.

Keep in mind that this is a tentative list, because we won’t know the real deal until May. I mean, I’m no John Edwards. If I was I would speak to shows that have crossed over and predict the future.

NBC

Returning: "Las Vegas," "American Dreams," "Crossing Jordan," "Will & Grace," "The Apprentice," "Fear Factor," "ER" and all the "Law & Orders," of course.

Bye-bye: "Friends," "Frasier," "Ed," "Lyon’s Den," "Boomtown," "Good Morning Miami" and, most likely, "Miss Match."

Limbo: "Scrubs," "Whoopi," "Happy Family," "The Tracey Morgan Show" and "Third Watch." "Scrubs," one of the few funny sitcoms on network TV, deserves a lot more tender loving care from NBC.

ABC

Returning: "NYPD Blue," "The Bachelor," "Alias." ABC ordered additional episodes of "According to Jim," "My Wife and Kids," "8 Simple Rules" and "Less Than Perfect" this season and that’s usually a good sign.

Bye-bye: "Threat Matrix," "10-8," "Karen Sisco," "LA Dragnet" and "The Practice" (but there is a James Spader spinoff set for the fall).

Limbo: "Line of Fire," "The D.A.," "Hope & Faith," "Life with Bonnie," "George Lopez," "I’m With Her," "Married to the Kellys" and "It’s All Relative." My guess is "Hope & Faith," "George Lopez" and "Life with Bonnie" will be back in the fall, but I haven’t heard that for sure.

CBS

Returning: "Survivor" (duh), "Two and Half Men," "Cold Case," "Joan of Arcadia," "Without a Trace," "Yes Dear," "The Amazing Race," "Big Brother," "Still Standing," "JAG," "King of Queens," "Navy NCIS" and both "CSI" shows.

Bye-bye: "The Handler," "The Stones," "The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.," and I don’t see "Century City" airing in the future.

Limbo: "Hack," "Judging Amy," "The District" and "The Guardian" (which does well in the ratings, but the network seems to think it can get a better performer). And Ray Romano will decide the fate of "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Fox

Returning: "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill," "24" "That ’70s Show," "Bernie Mac," "Malcolm in the Middle," "The O.C." Of course, there will be more more "Simple Life" and "American Idol."

Bye-bye: "Skin," "Keen Eddie," "A Minute with Stan Hooper," "Wanda at Large," "Luis" and "Boston Public."

Limbo: "Cracking Up," "Oliver Beene," "Tru Calling," "Arrested Development" and "Wonderfalls." I seriously worry about "Arrested Development" and "Wonderfalls." These are two shows that really deserve a second season.

The WB

Returning: "Gilmore Girls," "Smallville," "7th Heaven," "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment," "Reba," "Everwood" and "Charmed."

Bye-bye: "Angel" and "Tarzan"

Limbo: "One Tree Hill," "Steve Harvey’s Big Time," "Like Family," "All About the Andersens," "Grounded for Life," "What I Like About You" and "The Help."

UPN

Returning: "America’s Next Top Model" and "Smackdown."

Bye-bye: "Jake 2.0," "The Mullets"

Limbo: "Eve," "The Parkers," "Girlfriends," "One on One," "Rock Me Baby," "Enterprise," "All of Us" and "Game Over." It’s always anyone’s guess which shows will be back on UPN. But, if I was a betting woman (and I am), I’d put my money on "Girlfriends," "Eve," "Enterprise" and "All of Us" coming back in the fall.

Click.

’Family’ business

Fox is bringing back a series it canceled.

I would love to tell that it’s a really good show like "The Tick" or "Undeclared" or, dare to dream, "Andy Richter Controls the Universe," but alas it is "The Family Guy."

The animated series, which I consider a poor man’s "The Simpsons," has gotten a new lease on life after Fox canceled it more than two years ago. Production has started on 22 new episodes (which will also air on the Cartoon Network). It should be ready to air in spring 2005.

Now, I’m sure Fox execs are saying that they "listened to the fans" and crap like that, but what that really means is "money, money, money." The truth is "The Family Guy" did extremely well on DVD and now Fox is hoping to cash in.

So, you know what this means right? You need to go out and buy every single "Futurama" DVD you see. Let’s see if we can get a canceled animated series that was actually funny back on the air.

TV tidbits

 Fox has probably hit a new low with the new makeover show "The Swan (premiering Wednesday at 9 p.m.), in which 17 average-looking women are transformed into super models. But wait, there’s more. The beautiful women then compete in a beauty contest!!! Please note that I said Fox has "probably" hit a new low. I don’t wanna jinx it, but I think Fox can go even lower, "Herpes Island," anyone?

 Also, ABC’s "The Bachelor" premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m., but I don’t know if a hot guy looking for the reality show love of his life, which he will dump a week after the show ends, is more interesting than watching ugly girls turn into hot girls.

By the way, anyone else find it hard to believe that a hansome quarterback for the New York Giants needs a reality dating show to get women for him?

Click.