It’s Time for the Networks’ Annual Prime-Time Shuffle

Television fans just beginning to get their bearings as to where series are located may feel a small twinge of disorientation this month, as the networks again shuffle their prime-time lineups.

Almost entirely by default, January and March have become the designated windows in which networks launch new midseason series. November and February have been ruled out because big miniseries and specials tilt the playing field. In December, travel and party-going play havoc with viewing levels, so reruns and holiday fare hold sway.

After taking inventory of their strengths and weaknesses, the networks will premiere several programs during January, with a dozen others occupying different time slots. The new arrivals include a second edition of “60 Minutes,” three dramas and several animated series, among them Fox’s “The PJs,” featuring the voice of Eddie Murphy; and “Dilbert,” which graduates from the comic page to TV on UPN.

Some of these shows fill voids left by early cancellations. Four in 10 of this fall’s new series failed to survive into 1999, and the scythe hasn’t finished swinging yet. Last season, only six of three dozen programs that made their debut in the fall were granted a second season, and the final casualty count for this year won’t be known until next season’s schedules are announced in May.

While the latest revisions will invariably cause some confusion, they nevertheless appear less drastic than in the past. At this point, the major networks seem more inclined to engage in tinkering than ax-wielding, realizing that as their ratings drop, viewers require more time to become aware of new offerings.

ABC Entertainment Chairman Stu Bloomberg recently observed that he felt it wiser to exercise greater patience by “sticking with shows we believe in” and hoping for the best. Indeed, because making a change now runs the legitimate risk of seeing poor ratings get worse, networks can justify leaving some low-rated shows on longer, clinging to the outside chance the audience will grow.

Series such as ABC’s “Vengeance Unlimited” and “Cupid” will thus linger into the new year, despite numbers that once would have prompted an almost-immediate hook. The former--which airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays, a longtime graveyard for new ABC dramas--remains in jeopardy if ratings don’t improve soon, while the latter hasn’t been done much of a favor with its imminent shift from Saturdays to Thursdays, where it will air opposite NBC’s “Frasier.”

Facing the most substantial audience decline among the networks, NBC has undertaken the most wholesale renovation, altering its comedy blocks on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

As a result, “Mad About You,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Caroline in the City,” “Working,” “NewsRadio” and the new sitcom “Will & Grace” have all shifted to new nights or time periods since September. In addition, “Lateline”--a behind-the-scenes look at a TV news program, a la “The Larry Sanders Show”--rejoins the lineup on Wednesday, having aired briefly last spring.

NBC will also introduce “Providence,” a new family drama about a young doctor who returns to her hometown, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. The network has yanked four of its new programs, pulling “Trinity” and “Encore! Encore!”--heavily touted shows from the producers of “ER” and “Frasier,” respectively--as well as “Conrad Bloom” and Bo Derek’s first TV series, “Wind on Water.”

CBS will amend its roster in a more targeted manner, adding “60 Minutes II” on Jan. 13, bringing back “The Magnificent Seven” on Fridays and inserting the police drama “Turks,” starring William Devane, into its Thursday lineup starting Jan. 21.

The network had openings to fill after canceling the new dramas “To Have and to Hold” and “Buddy Faro.” CBS will temporarily bench “Promised Land” and move “Diagnosis Murder” to make room for “Turks,” pledging to restore the current lineup in March.

CBS did help itself with one earlier maneuver, defying convention by replacing “The Brian Benben Show” with the new Ted Danson comedy, “Becker,” in November. In similar fashion, ABC brought back the improvisational comedy “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” in December, after canceling the new sitcom “The Secret Lives of Men.”

ABC and Fox are proceeding with their second wave of new programs gradually. Because of the pressure to deliver strong ratings to affiliated stations during the February sweeps, programs rolled out in January face the prospect of preemptions if they fail to generate immediate dividends. In that respect, arriving in March offers a bit more leeway, affording shows a two-month stretch to prove themselves before the May survey intervenes.

That explains in part why ABC will forgo adding new programs this month, relying on news, movies and specials to fill the breach. The network has scheduled a movie and fourth hour of “20/20” in place of “Monday Night Football,” for example, with another movie slotted on Saturday nights. ABC will even keep running “Fantasy Island” through January, although the network has in fact canceled the show by halting further production.

Fox will schedule just one show during January, despite axing all of its new fall comedies except “That ‘70s Show.”

“The PJs,” a potentially controversial clay-animated comedy set in an urban housing project, takes up residence Tuesdays opposite ABC’s “The Hughleys” as of Jan. 12. In addition to voicing the central character, Murphy serves as one of the producers.

Another animated program, “Family Guy,” gets a vote of confidence by being previewed Jan. 31 after the Super Bowl--traditionally the year’s most-watched event--but won’t officially join the network’s lineup until March.

The WB network, enjoying solid ratings increases thanks to its teen-oriented dramas “Dawson’s Creek” and “7th Heaven,” has thrown its resources behind launching a new teen sitcom, “Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane.” The series premieres Jan. 17, replacing “The Army Show.”

Although the WB has ordered a full season of the new dramas “Felicity” and “Hyperion Bay,” the network hopes adding former “Baywatch” star Carmen Electra (depending on the day, Mrs. Dennis Rodman) to the cast can help rescue the latter from sluggish ratings.

The other fledgling network, UPN, has already made numerous scheduling changes in response to disappointing ratings and will try several more this month. “Dilbert” will lead off UPN’s Monday comedy block starting Jan. 25, with sci-fi series “The Sentinel” returning to the network that night as well.

UPN also plans to turn Tuesday into an all-comedy night starting Jan. 19, with “Malcolm & Eddie” shifting over from Mondays leading into the onetime Fox show “Between Brothers.”