TVSquad

Good news for fans of Thursday night comedy: NBC has renewed both 30 Rock and The Office. The Biggest Loser has also been renewed (and Heroes is noted as 'very secure'), but the final verdict has not been reached for the low-rated Lipstick Jungle, Kath & Kim and Knight Rider. In other news, the sky is blue.

Seriously, this should come as no surprise to anybody who watches either show, as they are both brilliant. NBC seems to be trying to make Thursday nights into "Must See TV" again. As someone who enjoys The Office and is pretty much addicted to 30 Rock, I think they're succeeding.

At this stage, it is only known that the series is renewed, and not whether or not the shows will stay in their current time slots. I cover Smallville on Thursday nights. If they move either series to the 8 PM hour on Thursday, then I have to make sure my video recorders are properly working.

Nothing is exempt from betting, including television shows. According to Horizon Media's annual television report, Fox's new show Fringe and CBS' sci-fi drama Eleventh Hour will fare best of the new wave of freshman television shows. Doing worst would be NBC's Kath & Kim and CBS' Worst Week.

The report produced some unsurprising claims, such as that Grey's Anatomy, Heroes and Survivor will continue to kick butt in the ratings. The report did produce some surprises such as ABC overthrowing CBS on Friday nights and the Fox sitcom Do Not Disturb finding success. I guess we'll have to wait until the fall season to see how correct the report is.

What irks me is that after combing through the article I found no mention of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. Did they forget to review that one? Is this a sign of things to come that Horizon Media didn't even find the show important enough to rank?

It looks like NBC thinks they have something worth giving a little more love to. Already airing in the cushy post-The Office slot when it premieres October 9th, now NBC has upped the order to thirteen on Molly Shannon and Selma Blair's Kath & Kim. In an era where shows can be yanked after one airing and episode commitments can never grow beyond six, this is a good sign for a new series.

K&K just finished filming their first episode, which tells me that someone must have liked what they saw. Personally, I think Molly Shannon is incredibly funny, in the right situation. Some of her bits on Saturday Night Live were classically brilliant while others were not so much. But her turn on Pushing Daisies last season was nothing short of brilliant. Blair, however, has a more limited TV resume, though she's done some awesome work in film. I'm guessing, based on her more dramatic background, that she's being set up as the straight (wo)man to Shannon's wackiness.