Monk

NBC, the network in the worst shape going into the writers in regards to quantity of available original content, are bringing two of their cable series up to the big leagues.  USA, a member of the ever-expanding NBC Universal clan, will see both Monk and Psych move from the relative anonymity of basic cable to network television in March 2008.  The series will air on NBC Sunday nights.  Both Monk and Psych will be airing original episodes on USA beginning this January.  Those new episodes will the be re-purposed for NBC and re-aired on the mother network beginning in March. 

The reason NBC is probably the worst equipped major network for a prolonged writers' strike is their lack of bankable reality programs.  They have The Biggest Loser, Deal or No Deal, The Apprentice, and that's about it.  They don't have any major scripted shows in the well (unless you want to count Medium) and all of their major shows have already run out of episodes.  Thank goodness they have these USA shows to take up some air time. 

Frankly, I'm a little surprised that the first NBC Universal series to be re-purposed on NBC weren't the Bravo reality shows Project Runway or Top Design.  Project Runway has become a runaway hit on the cable network and would fit right in on network television's reality landscape.  There's no reason the next season of Runway couldn't be placed exclusively on NBC, with weekly re-runs on Bravo. 

Perhaps that announcement is in the offing.  Monk and Psych both receive solid cable ratings, averaging around two million viewers per episode, and their placement on NBC should provide a significant bump.  But, once the writers' strike ends, they'll be gone.  This is no permanent appointment.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: The Futon Critic
(Image Courtesy of USA)