Last I heard, NBC is counting on an Americanized version of a Britcom called "Coupling" to take Friends place when the series ends. I've seen the British Coupling, it's like Friends, but with more sex and more alcohol. Stephan Moffet, the show's creator, has already flown over to the US to do a pilot. Coupling is currently in it's third year in the UK and is highly successful. The show can currently be seen on some PBS stations and on BBC America.
Your opinion.
Yes, it may slip to no. 3 or 4. Ooh, the horrors! We've heard these same predictions in seasons 3 and 7. But guess what? It still survived somehow.
Considering that more people watch TV at 9 than at any other time during primetime and Will & Grace has never had better ratings than Friends (except during one summer when W&G followed Friends directly), it's more than mere speculation.
And Scrubs retains 70% of Friends' audience. Those are Jesse numbers.
CSI isn't even the strongest anchor on CBS--that distinction goes to Everybody Loves Raymond, which strengthens that entire night for CBS. CSI could be a stronger anchor for CBS if it was on another night. Survivor does not rely on CSI to be as successful as it is.
Lewis.