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Same As The Old Boss!! NBC Cancels HEROES, Orders Superhero Drama THE CAPE!! Cancels LAW & ORDER, Orders LAW & ORDER: L.A.!!

I am – Hercules!! NBC officials confirm long-running series “Heroes” and “Law & Order” have been cancelled and that “Chuck” is renewed for a fourth season. The Hollywood Reporter, to absolutely no one's surprise, reports NBC's two abyssmally-rated medical freshmen, "Mercy" and "Trauma," are cancelled as well. The network has also issued a press releases confirming it has ordered five more pilots to series:

* “The Cape,” from writer Thomas Wheeler (ABC’s all-but-forgotten 2005 Ancient Rome miniseries “Empire”), is about a framed non-superpowered cop who decides to fight crime under a secret identity.

* “Friends With Benefits,” from screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (who wrote both “(500) Days of Summer” and “The Pink Panther 2”), is about five single friends, some of whom bone each other.

* “The Outlaw” (aka “Garza”), from writer John Eisendrath (“Felicity,” “Alias”), is about a guy who quits The Supreme Court to return to private law practice.

* “Harry’s Law” (aka “Kindreds”), from writer David E. Kelley (“Ally McBeal,” “Boston Legal”), is about a group of misfits who start a legal practice in a rundown shoe store. * “LOLA” (aka “Law & Order: Los Angeles”), from Dick Wolf and Blake Masters (Showtime’s “Brotherhood”), will follow LAPD homicide detectives. Press releases:
NBC Adds To New Scripted Lineup With Four New Series -- 'The Cape,' 'Outlaw,' 'Harry's Law' And 'Friends With Benefits' - And Renews 'Chuck' For Fourth Season In 2010-11 UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - May 14, 2010 - NBC has issued pickups for four more new scripted series with dramas "The Cape," "Outlaw," "Harry's Law" and the comedy "Friends With Benefits" - while renewing the action-comedy series "Chuck" for a fourth season -- all for the 2010-11 season. The announcement was made today by Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios. "The addition of these four inventive series to our new scripted lineup demonstrates a wide spectrum of creative stories," said Bromstad. "We are featuring popular, top-flight stars along with a strong pedigree of successful writer-producers. Likewise, 'Chuck' has proven its enduring appeal and we love the new creative direction that Josh and Chris have taken the show." The four new series join previously announced "LOLA' ("Law & Order: Los Angeles"), "Perfect Couples," "Chase," "Undercovers," "The Event," "Love Bites" and "Outsourced" as the new scripted series that NBC has revealed for its new season. "The Cape" is a one-hour drama series starring David Lyons ("ER") as Vince Faraday, an honest cop on a corrupt police force, who finds himself framed for a series of murders and presumed dead. He is forced into hiding, leaving behind his wife, Dana (Jennifer Ferrin, "Life on Mars") and son, Trip (Ryan Wynott, "Flash Forward"). Fueled by a desire to reunite with his family and to battle the criminal forces that have overtaken Palm City, Faraday becomes "The Cape" his son's favorite comic book superhero -- and takes the law into his own hands. Rounding out the cast are James Frain ("The Tudors") as billionaire Peter Fleming - The Cape's nemesis - who moonlights as the twisted killer: Chess; Keith David ("Death at a Funeral") as Max Malini, the ringleader of a circus gang of bank robbers who mentors Vince Faraday and trains him to be The Cape; Summer Glau ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") as Orwell, an investigative blogger who wages war on crime and corruption in Palm City; and Dorian Missick ("Six Degrees") as Marty Voyt, a former police detective and friend to Faraday. "The Cape" is a Universal Media Studios and BermanBraun production from executive producer/creator Thomas Wheeler ("Empire"), executive producer/director Simon West ("Con Air"), the executive producing team of Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun ("Mercy") and executive producer Gene Stein ("Accidentally on Purpose"). Starring Emmy Award winner Jimmy Smits ("NYPD Blue," "West Wing"), "Outlaw" is a new drama from executive producer John Eisendrath ("Alias," "Felicity," "Playmakers"). Cyrus Garza (Smits) is a Supreme Court justice who abruptly quits the high-level position. A playboy and a gambler, Garza had always adhered to a strict interpretation of the law until he realized the system he believed in was flawed. Now that he's quit the bench and returned to private practice, he's determined to represent "the little guy" and use his inside knowledge of the justice system to take on today's biggest legal cases. And he's making plenty of powerful people unhappy along the way. Jesse Bradford ("West Wing"), Carly Pope ("24"), Ellen Woglom ("Californication") and David Ramsey ("Dexter") also star. "Outlaw" is a Universal Media Studios production along with Conaco productions. Eisendrath is executive producer along with Terry George ("Hotel Rwanda," "Reservation Road"), Conan O'Brien, Jeff Ross and David Kissinger ("Andy Barker, P.I."). "Outlaw" is written by Eisendrath and directed by George. Emmy Award-winning creator David E. Kelley ("The Practice," "Boston Legal") brings his unique storytelling to "Harry's Law," a series about fate and the people it brings together, starring Academy Award winner Kathy Bates ("Misery," "About Schmidt"). Harriet (Bates), Matthew (Ben Chaplin, "Me and Orson Welles") and Malcolm (Aml Ameen, "Kidulthood") couldn't be any more different. Harriet is a curmudgeonly ex-patent lawyer who, having just been fired from her cushy job, is completely disillusioned with her success and looking for a fresh start. Her world unexpectedly collides with Malcolm's -- a young man trying to figure out life. When he finds out Harriet is a lawyer, he begs her to represent him in an upcoming criminal case. Matthew, a dreamer at heart and also recently fired from his job as a high school teacher, is introduced to Harriet through Malcolm, a previous student of his. When these three cross paths, they realize they're all looking for a fresh start. Now, the most unlikely of people are starting a law practice in the most unlikely of places -- a rundown shoe store. "Harry's Law" also stars Brittany Snow ("Hairspray") as Harriet's assistant, Jenna Backstrom and Beatrice Rosen ("Dark Knight") as Eve, a high school French teacher. "Harry's Law" is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with David E. Kelley Productions and Warner Bros. Television. David E. Kelley ("Boston Legal," "The Practice") and Bill D'Elia ("Boston Legal," "The Practice") serve as executive producers. D'Elia also serves as director. From Oscar and Emmy winner Brian Grazer ("A Beautiful Mind," "Arrested Development"), "Friends With Benefits" is a half-hour comedy revolving around a group of twenty-something singles as they navigate the difficult, and often confusing, world of dating. Ben Weymouth (Ryan Hansen, "Party Down") is on the hunt for the perfect woman who meets his unique set of standards, while his best friend, Sara Maxwell (Danneel Harris, "One Tree Hill"), is just looking for a man to settle down with and raise a family. Ben and Sara have fallen into the habit of turning to each other for moral and physical support as they wait for Mr. and Ms. Right to arrive. Their friend Aaron (Fran Kranz, "Dollhouse"), a romantic at heart, doesn't approve of Ben and Sara's complicated friendship, but he, along with womanizer Hoon (Ian Reed Kesler) and straight shooter Riley (Jessica Lucas, "Cloverfield"), are all distracted with their own dating trials and tribulations. David Nevins ("Lie to Me," "Arrested Development") joins Grazer as executive producer for Imagine Television. Also serving as executive producers are David Dobkin ("Wedding Crashers"), who directs the pilot, writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber ("(500) Days of Summer"), and Jeff Kleeman. "Friends With Benefits" is a production of 20th Century Fox Television, Imagine Television and Big Kid Pictures. Now in its third season that concludes with a two-hour season finale on Monday, May 24 (8-10 p.m. ET), "Chuck" is averaging a 2.4 rating, 6 share in adults 18-49 and 6.6 million viewers overall. "Chuck's" ratings increase significantly when all time-shifted viewing is added to its results, growing this season by an average of 22 percent in its 18-49 rating and more than 1.1 million persons in total viewers when going from its "live plus same day" to its "live plus seven day" results from Nielsen Media Research. Zachary Levi ("Less Than Perfect") stars in the title role as a regular guy working at a Buy More electronics store who becomes the government's most vital secret agent. This season, Chuck was transformed into the Intersect 2.0 after another data download into his brain. This time around, he not only knows government secrets, but he also is well equipped with deadly fight skills. Chuck has the potential to become a real agent and gets a helping hand from one of the CIA's top agents and his dream girl Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski, "Gone"). The ever stoic Colonel John Casey (Adam Baldwin, "My Bodyguard," "Firefly") returns with an unlikely new partner, Chuck's best friend, Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez, "Without a Trace"). Also starring are: Sarah Lancaster ("What About Brian?") as Chuck's ever-supportive sister Ellie and Ryan McPartlin ("Living with Fran") as Devon Woodcomb (also known as "Captain Awesome"), Ellie's husband. Chuck's Buy More team consists of Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence, "The Pursuit of Happyness") and the Nerd Herd, which includes Lester (Vik Sahay, "Time Bomb") and Jeff (Scott Krinsky, "The O.C."). "Chuck" is co-created by Josh Schwartz ("The O.C.," "Gossip Girl") and Chris Fedak, and is executive-produced by Schwartz, McG ("Charlie's Angels," "We Are Marshall"), Fedak, Allison Adler and Matthew Miller. "Chuck" is produced by College Hill Pictures, Wonderland Sound and Vision, in association with Warner Bros. Television.
NBC Announces Pickups For New Drama 'Lola' ('Law & Order: Los Angeles') and Returning 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' and 'Law & Order' Ends its Historic Run on NBC May 24 UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - May 14, 2010 - NBC has picked up the new drama "LOLA" ("Law & Order: Los Angeles") as well as renewed "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" for the 2010-11 season. In addition, NBC will end its historic and record-tying "Law & Order" when the mothership series concludes its 20th season on Monday, May 24 (10-11 p.m. ET). The announcements were made today by Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios. Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment said, "The full measure of the collective contributions made by Dick Wolf and his 'Law & Order' franchise over the last two decades to the success of NBC and Universal Media Studios cannot be overstated. The legacy of his original 'Law & Order' series will continue to make an impact like no other series before." Bromstad added: "'Law & Order' has been one of the most successful franchises in the history of television, which is why it is so critical that we continue this important brand and our relationship with Dick Wolf and his team with 'LOLA' and 'Law & Order: SVU.'" The brainchild of creator and Emmy Award winner Wolf, "Law & Order" has spawned one of the most successful brands in primetime television. It is the 1997 Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Drama Series and the record holder for the most consecutive (11) nominations in that category for a primetime series (tied with "Cheers" and "M*A*S*H"). It premiered on September 13, 1990, and eventually tied "Gunsmoke" as the longest-running drama series in television history. The new "LOLA" ("Law & Order: Los Angeles") is a procedural crime drama that will follow the theme and storylines similar to the "Law & Order"-brand series on the streets of Los Angeles. The series, from executive producer Dick Wolf and Blake Masters ("Brotherhood"), is a Wolf Films production in association with Universal Media Studios. Casting and pre-production work are continuing. In its current 11th season, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" has delivered a 2.9 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49 and 9.3 million viewers overall. "Law & Order: SVU" is NBC's #1 scripted series this season in total viewers. Since moving to Wednesdays (10-11 p.m. ET) on March 3, "SVU" is #1 in the time period in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and other key ratings categories and has improved on NBC's average rating in the hour during the traditional 2008-09 season by 29 percent in adults 18-49. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is a hard-hitting and emotional series from NBC's "Law & Order" brand as it chronicles the Special Victims Unit of the New York Police Department, the elite squad of detectives who investigate sexually based crimes. The drama follows Detective Elliot Stabler (Emmy Award nominee Christopher Meloni), a seasoned veteran, and his partner, Detective Olivia Benson (Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Mariska Hargitay), whose difficult past is the reason she joined the unit. Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek) oversees the unit while Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer, "Homicide: Life on the Street") brings his acerbic wit and street-honed investigative skills to the team. Munch's partner, Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (Ice-T), adds his unique sense of humor and investigative experience. Forensic psychiatrist, George Huang (B.D. Wong) and Medical Examiner Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie) uncover forensic evidence. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is a Wolf Films production in association with Universal Media Studios. Wolf is creator and executive producer; Neal Baer ("ER," "China Beach"), Ted Kotcheff ("Fun with Dick and Jane," "Weekend at Bernie's") and Jankowski are executive producers. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" continues to air in its ninth season on USA Network.
NBC announces its fall schedule Monday.
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