NBC has pulled “Kidnapped” off its schedule, replacing its Saturday night airing with a repeat of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” as of tomorrow.
The serialized drama, which previously had its order cut to 13 episodes and was dumped onto Saturday nights, drew a minuscule 1.2 rating/4 share last Saturday in the 18-to 49-year-old demographic.
It was originally launched on Wednesday nights at 10, but was quickly moved to Saturdays after it failed to find an audience. This fall season, many of the rookie serialized dramas (such as CW's “Runaway” and CBS' “Smith”) have flopped.
An NBC representative confirmed the show will not return to the network; however, the remaining eight episodes will be made available at NBC.com.
Al-Jazeera to launch Nov. 15
The Al-Jazeera International network has set a launch date of Nov. 15, although it's not clear whether anybody in the United States will be able to see it.
The English-language offshoot of the influential Arab network Al-Jazeera will begin operations at 4 a.m. out of its Doha, Qatar, headquarters, the network announced. The network operates with four main offices, in Doha, London, Washington and Kuala Lumpur.
The network missed its target launch of last spring, and after that executives said it didn't make sense to begin during the summer, when viewership is down. Al-Jazeera International has not announced any agreements with cable or satellite systems in the United States to carry it. Negotiations are ongoing, and spokesman Marc Smrikarov said he hoped some announcements will be made before launch.
Second season for 'Pros vs. Joes'
Spike TV will debut a second 10-episode season of the sports-themed reality series “Pros vs. Joes” in January.
“Pros vs. Joes” features “regular guys competing in a variety of sports against an incredible array of sports legends.”
The series will be hosted by Los Angeles sports television and radio personality Petros Papadakis, and it will be taped at the Home Depot Center in Carson.
Among athletes on tap for season two: Michael Irvin, Eric Dickerson, Wade Boggs, Jose Canseco, Darryl Strawberry, Bruce Smith, Roy Jones Jr., Andre Reed, John Starks, Vince Coleman, Kordell Stewart, Andre Rison, Tim Hardaway, Grant Fuhr, Rob Dibble, Rik Smits, Will Clark, Spud Webb, Kevin Willis, Randy Couture, Mark Jackson, Robby Ginepri and Cobi Jones.
'Reba' returns to Sundays
The CW will bring “Reba” back to its Sunday lineup on Nov. 19 with two original episodes from 7 to 8 p.m. The following Sunday, “Reba” will shift to a rerun at 7 and an original at 7:30.
Since The CW moved its comedy block from Sundays to Mondays in mid-October, it has been running repeats of “America's Next Top Model,” “Smallville” and “Supernatural” in the Sunday night time slot, followed by “7th Heaven” at 8 and “Top Model” reruns at 9.
– COMPILED BY PAT McGRATH
FROM NEWS SERVICE REPORTS
