NBC announces midseason schedule

NBC announced a partial midseason schedule Tuesday which includes a heavy dose of reality and a lack of "Lipstick Jungle."

The lineup is surprising less for what's included than for what's missing: no dates for "Medium," "Kings," "Life," "Chuck" and "Heroes," and reality shows "American Gladiators" and "Deal or No Deal" are off the board -- for January at least. NBC plans to make second announcement covering February and March at a later date.

One unexpected addition is "Howie Do It," a hidden camera show starring "Deal or No Deal" host Howie Mandel that's been largely off the media's radar since its development was announced last spring. The show air Fridays at 8 p.m. starting Jan. 9.

"'Howie Do It' is a really funny show and Howie is perfectly suited for it," said Mitch Metcalf, NBC's head of scheduling. "It's flat-out funny and it's perfectly placed on Friday nights."

Also on the schedule is "Superstars of Dance," a professional dancing competition series from the producers of "American Idol" that THR broke earlier this month.

After a Sunday premiere on Jan. 4, "Superstars" will air in two-hour blocks on Monday nights, with a one-hour finale on Jan. 26. The scheduling effectively starts and finishes a dance reality show during the short gap before ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" returns for its second cycle, and even airs during the usual "Dancing" time period.

"Having Nigel Lythgoe running this show gives us a lot of confidence and this short-run series will have a nice run in a good time period benefiting from the broad ratings delivery of the NFL wild card," Metcalf said.

The "Superstars" premiere will have a lead-in from a new primetime "Saturday Night Live" special -- a sports-centric edition to take advantage of football playoffs just as the sketch comedy show's high-flying political specials capitalized on election fever earlier this fall. NBC plans a film-related "SNL special as well, on Jan. 18.

NBC also announced that oft-rescheduled reality show "Momma's Boys" will air Monday nights and "Friday Night Lights" will air Fridays starting Jan. 16. The network plans a follow-up announcement within a couple weeks with additional premiere dates and to reveal what will air after NBC's presentation of the Super Bowl.

A couple possibilities for a post-Bowl slot are "Kings" (a scripted drama retelling the story of King David in modern times) and launching the next edition of "Heroes." NBC is concerned about "Heroes" falling ratings and having the highest-rated event of the year lead into the next book, "Fugitives," could work as a Hail Mary pass to revive the show. And "Kings," NBC is very excited about (review of the script here), and believe the series is the network's best chance to exit the season with a break-out drama. An alternate possibility is a comedy block -- such as "The Office," "30 Rock" and "Kath and Kim."

NBC is staying quiet on whether "American Gladiators," which launched last January, will return in the spring, summer or at all. "Deal or No Deal" is being given a rare in-season hiatus, possibly due to the addition of "Howie Do It." The network's Amy Poehler comedy is also not yet scheduled.

"Deal" was originally planned for Wednesdays at 9 p.m., but NBC will air repeats of "Law & Order: SVU" instead -- at least until "Life" (presumably) returns. "Deal" would also conflict with the "crime block" brand NBC is trying to build on on that night. But that a major broadcast network would air a repeat during such a significant time period also speaks to the network's struggle to launch new content this fall. Along with "SVU" repeats on Saturdays, this currently January schedule has "SVU" airing three hours during the week.

NBC's midseason schedule:

MONDAYS (beginning January 5)
8-10 p.m. --  “SUPERSTARS OF DANCE”; premieres Sunday, January 4 (9-11 p.m.); season finale Monday, January 26 (8-9 p.m.)
10-11 p.m. – “MOMMA’S BOYS”                   
(“Chuck” and “Heroes” return in February) 

TUESDAYS (beginning January 6)
8-10 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser: Couples”      
10-11 p.m. -- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”

TUESDAY (January 20)
10-11 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”: Presidential Inauguration Special (10-11 p.m. ET)

WEDNESDAYS (beginning January 7)
8-9 p.m. -- “Knight Rider”
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” encores (“Life” returns in February)
10-11 p.m. -- “Law & Order”

THURSDAYS (beginning January 8)
8-8:30 p.m. – “My Name Is Earl”
8:30-9 p.m. -- “Kath & Kim”
9:00-9:31 p.m. -- “The Office”
9:31-10 p.m. -- “30 Rock”
10-11 p.m. – “ER”

FRIDAYS 
8-9 p.m. -- “HOWIE DO IT” (series premiere January 9)
9-10 p.m. – “Friday Night Lights” (beginning January 16)
10-11 p.m. -- “Dateline NBC” (beginning December 5)

SATURDAYS (beginning January 10)
8-11 – “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” encores

SUNDAYS (January 4)
7-9 p.m. – “Saturday Night Live Sports Extra”
9-11 p.m. – “SUPERSTARS OF DANCE” (premiere)

“Sunday -- Event Specials”
8-11 p.m. – “THE GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS” (January 11)
9-11 p.m. – “SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE FILM FESTIVAL” (January 18)
9-11 p.m. -- THE LAST TEMPLAR -- (January 25 and Monday, January 26)
6:15-10 p.m. -- SUPER BOWL XLIII (February 1)