Strike's Over, Time For New Episodes!
Now that the writers strike has ended, network TV series are going back into production and new episodes will be on the air in a matter of weeks.
CBS was the first to announce their expected calendar of new shows, with original episodes of the comedies "How I Met Your Mother," "The Big Bang Theory," and "Two And A Half Men" airing on March 17. "CSI: Miami" is back on March 24, and "CSI:NY" and "CSI" are back on April 2 and 3 respectively.
"Shark" will be going back into production, but a date for the show has not been announced yet. The show, along with "The Unit" and "Cane" are on a previously announced hiatus to accommodate mid-season launches of "Big Brother," "Jericho" and "Dexter." The new drama series "Swingtown," which hasn't been scheduled yet, will also resume production.
NBC will resume the broadcast of many of its scripted series in April with new original episodes, including "The Office," "30 Rock," "My Name Is Earl," "Law & Order," and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," the network announced Wednesday.
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Earlier in the week, NBC announced it is planning a Feb. 23 return for "Saturday Night Live," although the host and musical guest have not been revealed yet.
As previously announced, Fox is rolling out four new series in the spring: "Unhitched" on March 2, "New Amsterdam" on March 10, "The Return Of Jezebel James" on March 14, and "Canterbury's Law" on April 14. The network has not announced when new episodes of shows affected by the writers strike will be airing.
The anticipated return dates for CBS and NBC series are as follows:
March 17
March 24
March 30
April 2
April 3
April 3
April 8
April 10
April 11
April 14
April 10
April 23
By Judy Rosen