Bochco to Return to ‘L.A. Law’

The resolution of the Jay Leno-David Letterman dispute wasn’t the only news out of NBC this week. The network also announced that:

* “L.A. Law” co-creator Steven Bochco is returning to the series as executive producer, along with former producer William Finkelstein, creator of ABC’s “Civil Wars.”

They replace John Tinker and John Masius, who’d taken the helm at the beginning of the season but failed to restore the legal drama’s ratings or critical glory.

Bochco, who produces “Civil Wars” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” also was brought back to the series last season temporarily after fans and network executives complained that it had veered off course.

* NBC is developing a prime-time series called “Great Escapes” that will consist of four serials, each running six episodes and featuring “romance, adventure and, in some cases, exotic locales.”

The series will air on Fridays beginning in August, and one or more of the components could later be broken out as its own series.

The six-episode series are “Pretenders,” set in Louisiana and Paris; “La Famiglia,” set in Italy and the United States; “Lake Success,” set in Upstate New York, and “Trade Winds,” set in St. Martin in the Caribbean.

* A comedy series is being developed for John Larroquette, who played the prosecutor Dan Fielding on “Night Court.” In “Crossroads,” he’s cast as the night manager of a bus station.