Thursday, December 1, 2005
NBC ADJUSTS MID-SEASON PROGRAM LINEUP WITH NEW SERIES LAUNCHES AND RETURN TO THURSDAY-NIGHT COMEDY BLOCK BEGINNING WEEK OF JANUARY 2
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NBC ADJUSTS MID-SEASON PROGRAM LINEUP WITH NEW SERIES LAUNCHES AND RETURN TO THURSDAY-NIGHT COMEDY BLOCK BEGINNING WEEK OF JANUARY 2

NBC ADJUSTS MID-SEASON PROGRAM LINEUP WITH NEW SERIES LAUNCHES AND RETURN TO THURSDAY-NIGHT COMEDY BLOCK BEGINNING WEEK OF JANUARY 2

"My Name Is Earl" and "The Office" Move to Thursdays to Join New Two-hour Comedy Block That Includes New Comedy "Four Kings" and "Will & Grace" While Drama "The Book of Daniel" Joins Schedule as New Series

"Scrubs" Returns with Weekly Back-to-Back New Episodes on Tuesdays (9-10 p.m. ET), "The Biggest Loser" Comes Back with Series of Themed Specials Titled "The Biggest Loser: Special Edition" and "Most Outrageous TV Moments" Becomes Weekly Series

BURBANK - December 1, 2005 - NBC adjusts its mid-season program lineup beginning the week of January 2 as the hit freshman comedy "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office" move to Thursdays to join a new two-hour comedy block that includes the new comedy "Four Kings" and "Will & Grace." In addition, the new limited drama series "The Book of Daniel" will premiere, "Scrubs" will return to Tuesdays and the "The Biggest Loser" will come back as a series of themed specials titled "The Biggest Loser: Special Edition."

Thursday nights will return to NBC's storied comedy roots starting on January 5 with an 8-10 p.m. (ET) block that includes "Will & Grace," "Four Kings," "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office."

"The Book of Daniel," which begins with back-to-back episodes on Friday, Jan. 6 (9-11 p.m. ET), will be featured as a limited series that will run until Friday, Feb. 3 - the week prior to the start of NBC's exclusive coverage of the 2006 Winter Olympics on Friday, Feb. 10. "Most Outrageous TV Moments" will now become a series starting on Friday, Jan. 6 (8-9 p.m. ET).

NBC's "The Apprentice" and "Joey" will return following the Winter Olympics (additional details about NBC's post-Olympic program schedule will be revealed during the network's January Press Tour).

The announcements were made today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

"These mid-season adjustments allow us to showcase the season's top-rated new comedy in 'Earl' as well as the increasingly popular 'The Office' on Thursdays along with the new 'Four Kings' while we also introduce a great new drama series in 'Book of Daniel' on Fridays" said Reilly. "In so doing, we have the pieces in place to fulfill one of our goals -- to bring back a block of quality comedy to Thursday nights."

"Four Kings" and "The Book of Daniel" were previously announced as mid-season series at NBC's May Upfront. "Four Kings" will premiere on Thursday, Jan. 5 (8:30-9 p.m. ET).

After "The Book of Daniel" debuts with its back-to-back episodes on Friday, Jan. 6 (9-11 p.m. ET), it returns the following week (January 13) in its regular time from 10-11 p.m. (ET). "Dateline NBC" will then return in its new Friday time (9-10 p.m. ET) on January 13. "Most Outrageous TV Moments" -- originally a series of NBC specials -- will begin its weekly run as a series on Friday, Jan. 6 (8-9 p.m. ET).

"Scrubs" returns to NBC's primetime lineup with back-to-back original episodes on Tuesdays (9-10 p.m. ET) following "Fear Factor" starting Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Fresh off its record-setting season finale on November 29, "The Biggest Loser" will now return as a series of self-contained and themed specials in "The Biggest Loser: Special Edition," beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 4 (9-10 p.m. ET). The series will then run for five more weeks prior to the start of NBC's exclusive coverage of the Winter Olympics on February 10.

No changes will be made on NBC's Monday, Saturday or Sunday nights.

NBC's new mid-season schedule, which begins January 2, follows (all times ET); new series are in upper case (except "ER"):

Mondays
8-9 p.m. "Surface"
9-10 p.m. "Las Vegas"
10-11 p.m. "Medium"

Tuesdays
8-9 p.m. "Fear Factor"
9-9:30 p.m. "Scrubs"
9:30-10 p.m. "Scrubs"
10-11 p.m. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"

Wednesdays
8-9 p.m. "E-Ring"
9-10 p.m. "The Biggest Loser: Special Edition" (new title)
10-11 p.m. "Law & Order"

Thursdays
8-8:30 p.m. "Will & Grace"
8:30-9 p.m. "FOUR KINGS"
9-9:30 p.m. "My Name Is Earl"
9:30-10 p.m. "The Office"
10-11 p.m. "ER"

Fridays
8-9 p.m. "MOST OUTRAGEOUS TV MOMENTS"
9-10 p.m. "Dateline NBC"
10-11 p.m. "THE BOOK OF DANIEL"

Saturdays
Movies and variable programming

Sundays
7-8 p.m. "Dateline NBC"
8-9 p.m. "The West Wing"
9-10 p.m. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"
10-11 p.m. "Crossing Jordan"

The comedy "Four Kings" - from Emmy Award winners David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, creators of NBC's Emmy-winning comedy "Will & Grace" - is an exploration of four lifelong friends on the cusp of adulthood.

Barry (Seth Green "Austin Powers" franchise, "Italian Job"), Bobby (Shane McRae, "One Life to Live"), Ben (Josh Cooke, NBC's "Committed") and Jason (Todd Grinnell, "The Dangling Conversation") couldn't imagine life without one another. Since childhood, these bosom buddies haven't spent so much as a birthday apart, but when Ben's grandmother, who dubbed them the "Four Kings of New York," passes away, Ben (and essentially his close friends) inherits her apartment. But despite the comfort of their posh new surroundings and efforts to cling to their youth, adulthood begins drawing these Four Kings knee-deep into situations that aren't always easy to escape in this honest exploration of life-term friendship. KoMut Entertainment produces "Four Kings" in association with Warner Bros. Television. Kohan and Mutchnick are the creators and executive producers.

"The Book of Daniel" is a provocative, edgy and compelling new drama starring Emmy nominee Aidan Quinn ("An Early Frost") as Reverend Daniel Webster, an unconventional Episcopalian minister who not only believes in Jesus - he actually sees him and discusses life with him. Webster is challenged on many levels as he struggles to be a good husband, father and minister, while trying to control a nagging addiction to prescription painkillers, and an often rocky relationship with the church hierarchy, led by Bishop Beatrice Congreve (Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"), and Roger Paxton, a senior warden of the parish and stalwart churchgoer (Dylan Baker, "Kinsey").

The reverend also has loving, but challenging relationships with his three children: Peter (Christian Campbell, "Trick"), his 23-year-old gay son; Grace (Alison Pill, "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen"), his 16-year-old daughter who doesn't try to push her father's buttons but succeeds at it nonetheless; and Adam (Ivan Shaw, "All My Children"), his 16-year-old adopted Chinese son, a handsome and cocky high school jock. Keeping Webster grounded is his strong and loving wife Judith (Susanna Thompson, "Now and Again") -- who is fighting her own fondness for mid-day martinis -- as well as Jesus (Garret Dillahunt, "Deadwood"), whose frequent chats with Daniel remind him of his strengths and weaknesses.

Creator Jack Kenny ("Titus") and Flody Suarez ("8 Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter," "The Tick") are the executive producers of this production from NBC Universal Television Studio and Sony Pictures Television.

...when Ben's grandmother, who dubbed them the "Four Kings of New York," passes away, Ben (and essentially his close friends) inherits her apartment.