‘30 Rock’ gets a reprieve; other series aren’t so lucky

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30 Rock

See what happens? You take a couple days off and the TV world goes nuts on you. Or sorta nuts, with lots of little things, anyway.

And since this is a Wednesday, and we play “What’d They Do to My Show?” on Wednesdays, let’s get right to the action.

First, the good news: NBC renewed “30 Rock” for a second season. Can I get a woo hoo?

“30 Rock,” starring the reliably funny Tina Fey and a surprisingly droll Alec Baldwin, just keeps getting better, though the ratings—at a bit less than 6 million viewers—haven’t entirely reflected that.

Still, NBC is casting that big vote of confidence for a couple reasons. First, as NBC entertainment president Kevin Reilly said in a press statement, “`30 Rock’ has proven to be the kind of quality comedy that doesn’t come around very often” and he expects the audience will catch on.

Second, although no one is exactly saying this, starting Thursday, “30 Rock” moves into a hyper-competitive 9 p.m. time slot against ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and CBS’ “CSI.” NBC didn’t want to scare off fans with stories that would have said, basically, ratings have dropped after the time switch and the show could be in trouble.

But there’s no trouble now, so there’s nothing holding you back from giving this show a try.

In less happy Thursday-comedy news, NBC appears to have given up on the witty “Andy Barker, P.I.” The network moved the last two half-hours of the show from Thursday to Saturday night this week (at 8 and 8:30), when the show is guaranteed to get bad ratings.

“Andy,” something of a comedy version of the 1970s and `80s detective shows, stars Andy Richter as an accountant/private eye. The show is charming and funny, and, as the straight-laced-but-plucky Barker would say, it’s a gosh-darned shame to lose this one.

“Scrubs” will be back Thursday (at 9:30) to fill the gap.

CW apparently has canceled “7th Heaven” for a second, and final, time. The series got a strong send-off last May, but then CW brought it back to very mediocre ratings.

So the very, very last episode will air May 13. Not that you’re watching anyway.

Lots of people have asked about two other CW shows, “Veronica Mars” and “One Tree Hill.” “Veronica” will be back for a series of self-contained episodes beginning May 1, and “One Tree Hill” will return on May 2.

CW has not said anything about the renewal prospects for either show, though if you had to bet on one, put the money on “One Tree Hill.”

There are also a handful of newly dead shows to report. In no particular order:

ABC yanked the nearly unwatched drama “Six Degrees.” It was getting about 3 million viewers in its Friday-night slot.

ABC also killed its “Great American Dream Vote” after just two airings despite the fact that it was hosted by Donny Osmond. Uh, yeah, I’m being ironic.

This was the show that was granting people their “dreams,” as voted on by viewers. My favorite was the person who wanted to build a chicken petting zoo, though if I had a dream, it would be that America votes Sanjaya off “American Idol.” I’m just saying.

Fox stopped production on “The Wedding Bells,” and I’m not doing any lame divorce jokes here. Not even tempted. The series was created by David E. Kelley but drew just 3.8 million viewers last week.

NBC pulled “The Black Donnellys” off the Monday night lineup for good. The drama about Irish gangster brothers written by Oscar winner Paul Haggis drew only 5.4 million viewers last week, and NBC temporarily replaced it with the improv series “Thank God You’re Here.”

On April 23, the reality show “The Real Wedding Crashers” will take over the Monday 10 p.m. slot, and if that does better than former occupant “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” I’m gonna have a fit.

“The Black Donnellys” have drawn much worse ratings than “Studio 60,” so, yes, maybe the slot isn’t NBC’s best, but, no, that doesn’t mean a thing for “Studio 60,” which may or may not return this season and looks like a long, long shot for renewal.

Finally, just a reminder that the season finale of the stellar “Friday Night Lights” airs Wednesday night (at 8). There still has been no word on whether “Lights” will see another season, but it can’t hurt that the series won a prestigious Peabody Award last week.