NBC renews HEROES for 2008-09 Season

NBC has picked up its freshman drama series “Chuck” and “Life” — as well as its hit “Heroes” — for the 2008-09 season, it was announced today by Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, and Marc Graboff, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. All three series will have major re-launch campaigns next year.

“We are thrilled to be bringing back the high-energy dramas ‘Chuck’ and Life’ for next season,” said Silverman. “Additionally, we will be saving and re-launching our #1 drama and most successful franchise, ‘Heroes,’ so that it will run in all original episodes in the fourth quarter.”

“These pickups are a sign of our confidence in these quality series and will allow the respective producers to get a head start on their creative arc for next season,” said Graboff. “As a result, they give us a lot to build on as we point to next year’s schedule.”

“Heroes” is NBC’s #1 series this season in adults 18-49, the #1 Monday series on any network in adults 18-49 and the #1 scripted series on any network in adults 18-34. This season, “Heroes” has averaged a 6.2 rating, 14 share in adults 18-49 and 13.1 million viewers overall.

“Chuck” has averaged a 3.5 rating, 9 share in adults 18-49 and 8.7 million viewers overall this season. The most recent telecast of “Chuck” on December 3 won the time period in adults 18-49, adults 18-34 and all key adult-male demographics. “Chuck” has increased its adult 18-49 rating from half-hour to half-hour with each of its 11 Monday telecasts this season.

“Life” has averaged a 3.0 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49 and 8.1 million viewers overall. Its most recent telecast on December 5 saw “Life” achieve the show’s highest total-viewer result since October 3. That December 5 telecast finished within 1 share of the time-period lead in adults 18-49.

From creator/writer Tim Kring (NBC’s “Crossing Jordan”) comes the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated “Heroes,” an epic drama that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. In its first season, “Heroes” was honored with a People’s Choice Award, an AFI Award, a Multicultural Prism Award and this year’s TV Land Future Classic Award and the TV Critics Association Awards’ Outstanding Program of the Year, as well as nominations at the Golden Globe Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Writers Guild of America Awards and Satellite Awards.

After a total eclipse casts its shadow across the globe, seemingly calling forth a multitude of everyday men and women with special powers, Dr. Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy, “Blind Guy Driving”), a genetics professor from India, continues to champion his father’s theory that there are people with extraordinary abilities living among us. Claire Bennet, an indestructible high school cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere, “Bring it On: All or Nothing”), must hide her ability from her peers while working to maintain her relationship with her father (Jack Coleman, “Dynasty”), a man of mystery who has a keen interest in people like her. Niki Sanders, a Las Vegas single mother (Ali Larter, “Final Destination”) with astonishing strength — and a dangerous, amoral mirror image (Jessica Sanders) — struggles to protect her young son Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey, “My Wife & Kids”), a genius who can interact with electronic machinery through touch.

Matt Parkman, a police detective (Greg Grunberg, “Alias”), attempts to put his ability to hear the thoughts of others to good use. In Japan, Hiro Nakamura’s (Masi Oka, NBC’s “Scrubs”) ability to pierce the space-time continuum and manipulate time has empowered him to change the future, as he embarks on wild adventures with his best friend Ando Masahashi (James Kyson Lee, “Shutter”). Nathan Petrelli, a congressional hopeful (Adrian Pasdar, “Judging Amy”) with the ability to fly, has his dreams dashed after failing to stop his younger brother Peter (Milo Ventimiglia, “Rocky Balboa”), a nurse with the ability to absorb the powers of others, from exploding over the New York City skyline. And after this clash in New York, the fate of Sylar, a manipulative serial killer (Zachary Quinto, “24″) dedicated to violently collecting the extraordinary talents of special people, is unknown. Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic, a young woman named Maya Herrera (Dania Ramirez, “The Sopranos”) and her twin brother, plagued by her threatening ability, attempt to enter the United States in search of help. And Monica Dawson, another woman (Dana Davis, “The Nine”) with newfound special abilities, would give up everything to help the people around her. Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world…

Joining Kring as executive producer are Dennis Hammer (NBC’s “Crossing Jordan”), Allan Arkush (NBC’s “Crossing Jordan”) and Greg Beeman (”Smallville”). The drama is produced by Universal Media Studios in association with Tailwind Productions.

From Rand Ravich (”The Astronaut’s Wife”), Far Shariat (”Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”), and David Semel — who directed the pilot of NBC’s “Heroes” — “Life” is a first-year drama about a detective who is given a second chance. Damian Lewis (”Band of Brothers”) stars as complex, offbeat Detective Charlie Crews, who returns to the force after years in prison, thanks to close friend and attorney Constance Griffiths (Brooke Langton, “The Net”), after serving time in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

The cast also includes Sarah Shahi (”Rush Hour 3″) as Charlie’s skeptical, demanding partner, Robin Weigart (HBO’s “Deadwood”) as their hard-hitting lieutenant, and Adam Arkin (”Chicago Hope”) as former cellmate Ted Early.

“Life” is a Universal Media Studios production. Rand Ravich is executive producer and writer; Far Shariat and Dan Sackheim are executive producers on the series; David Semel is executive producer and director on the pilot.

From executive producer, Josh Schwartz (”The O.C.”) and executive producer-director McG (”Charlie’s Angels,” “We Are Marshall”) comes “Chuck,” a one-hour, action-comedy series about Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi, “Less Than Perfect”) — a computer geek who is catapulted into a new career as the government’s most vital secret agent. When Chuck opens an e-mail subliminally encoded with government secrets, he unwittingly downloads an entire server of sensitive data into his brain. Now, the fate of the world lies in the unlikely hands of a guy who works at a Buy More Electronics store. Instead of fighting computer viruses, he must now confront assassins and international terrorists.

With the government’s most precious secrets in Chuck’s head, Major John Casey of the National Security Agency (Adam Baldwin, “My Bodyguard”) assumes the responsibility of protecting him. His partner is the CIA’s top agent (and Chuck’s first date in years), Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski, “Gone”). They’ll try to keep him safe by trading in his pocket protector for a bulletproof vest. Also starring are Joshua Gomez (”Without a Trace”) as Morgan Grimes, Chuck’s best buddy, and Sarah Lancaster (”What About Brian?”) as Chuck’s ever-supportive sister, Ellie. Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak wrote, “Chuck,” which is produced by College Hill Pictures, Wonderland Sound and Vision, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

SOURCE: NBC