All the news you need

ITV have picked up Life, the Damien Lewis cop show being screened by NBC in the US. The pickup comes days after NBC ordered a full season of 22. The show got slammed by critics (the pilot is terrible) but it has improved since and ratings are steady. Lewis plays a cop who has returned to the force after serving time for a crime he didn't commit. Adam Arkin and Brooke Langton are also among the cast.......ITV2 meanwhile are already trailing the Bionic Woman for january. The episode that aired in the US on Wednesday was the last to be completed before the writers strike began, and the word is that NBC won't put the show back into production when the strike ends. the fact that they picked up Life and Chuck and not Bionic Woman and Journeyman for full seasons looks to spell the end for both. Journeyman has 12 completed episodes and its cancellation is bad news for SKY One who have already started screening the show.......The GOOD news is that Trouble start screening the second series of How I met Your Mother every weeknight in double episodes from 10pm from Wednesday December 5th.....Channel 4 have announced new shows Reaper, Back To You and Big Bang Theory as part of their Winter season along with the return of ER and Desperate Housewives.

Galactica, Quarterlife, Kimmel and Dirty Sexy

SKY One have put back screening the new Battlestar Galactica movie until Wednesday December 19th.....ITV4 will screen the American Music Awards a week on Wednesday at 9pm. The show was affected by the writers strike, so see how Jimmy Kimmel does with a script that couldn't be polished up.....NBC have bought the Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick online series Quarterlife which debuted November 11th on MySpace.com, about a twentysomething young woman whose online blog tells the truth about her closest friends. This is the first online series to transition to television. The 36 eight-minute episodes will be turned into a six-part one-hour drama airing in early 2008 on NBC. Look out for it here also....Good news for Channel 4, ABC has ordered a full season of Dirty Sexy Money, although when the series will be completed remains to be seen.....

24 on hold

24 is the first big casualty of the writers strike. There are just 7 episodes in the can for the new season which is due to start in the US on January 13th and in the UK a week later. Production has been halted because of the strike. Even if the strike ends in the next few weeks, production won't be able to resume as Kiefer Sutherland has already agreed to serve part of his jail sentence in December, during what would have been a planned break in filming. There is little point in screening seven episodes so FOX have announced that the entire series will be shelved until all 24 episodes can be completed. This means if the strike continues we may not see 24 at all this TV season with the show potentially not returning next Autumn of maybe 2009.

There's a tough choice ahead also for Lost who only have 8 episodes completed. They may need to decide on running 8 and postponing the other 8, running a longer season next time, with the postponed 8 and 16 new episodes. Or - postponing entirely until next season.

This is all likely to have a major impact on SKY One's Winter schedule who have 24 and Lost as their Sunday night crown jewels.

Saturday Night Live

Check out the opening sketch from Saturday Night Live in the US this past weekend.

Writers Strike is on

The writers strike is underway in the US and will have an impact on your favourite shows. Chat shows like the Daily Show, David Letterman and Jay Leno are likely to come off air immediately. But if the strike goes on, scripted drama will also be hit. The creators of Heroes have prepared to wrap the second series on December 3rd if necessary, meaning season 2 will have only 11 episodes. Lost has only 8 of its 16 episodes ready, SKY One is due to air the show in February along with 24 which has only completed 8 or 9 of its 24 shows, meaning they will probably have to shelve it for a while. Loads of other top shows are in similar positions which is likely to have impact on the UK Winter schedules.

In other news FX have picked up Rescue Me for a mighty 22 episodes. Previous seasons have had only 13 shows in them. Additionally Showtime have ordered a fourth season of Weeds. There are seasons of both shows yet to be screened in the UK by Sky One.

Heroes spin-off shelved

The Heroes may need to save themselves before they save the cheerleader or the world.

NBC sent the cast off a world tour before the second series, a bit much for a show only 23 episodes old.

This has been followed by a poorly received second season in the US. The ratings are down and the critics just think its a bit dull, and even more disjointed than season one. Added to that the introduction of new characters has led to limited screen time for the established core.

Now, there's news this week that NBC have shelved "Heroes: Origins", the six episode spin-off that BBC2 already has a deal to show. This was to feature one off tales about new characters in the show's universe, with the public voting for one of them to be included in the main show.

The reason given is financial concerns related to the expected writers strike in Hollywood, but NBC may have realised they are in danger of killing the show through over-exposure. Kevin Smith and Eli Roth were among the directors signed up for the spin-off.