ABC TO OFFER TEN NEW SHOWS NEXT SEASON

Like NBC, ABC is planning a major overhaul of its schedule next fall, introducing ten new series, it said today (Tuesday). Since all but one, the Wednesday-night sitcom Better Together, will be one-hour long, the new shows represent 42 percent of ABC’s schedule. By contrast, Fox said that it plans to launch four new half-hour comedy series and three new dramas next season. (It does not yet have a slot for its ambitious time-travel drama Terra Nova from Steven Spielberg and Peter Chernin.) CBS also had a programming announcement of its own to make today. (It officially announces its fall schedule on Wednesday.) It said that it will continue to air its No. 1 comedy Two and a Half Men for two more seasons thanks to an agreement by star Charlie Sheen to return. Today’s Los Angeles Times said that Sheen’s new deal will make him one of the highest-paid TV stars in the medium’s history as he pockets more than $1 million per episode. Two and a Half Men is television’s highest rated sitcom. The agreement could be short-circuited if Sheen’s personal legal problems are not resolved.