'Friends' Beefs Up for Battle Against 'Survivor' January 16, 2001 3:42 am EST
By Josef Adalian HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Hoping to limit the potential damage from CBS' "Survivor: The Australian Outback," NBC will serve up extra-long episodes of "Friends" and a shortened prime-time version of "Saturday Night Live" from 8-9 p.m. on Thursdays next month.
Newly installed NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker is working with the producers of "Friends" to deliver what the network is calling "super-size" episodes of the hit comedy for the February sweeps. The four episodes will likely run about four to six minutes longer than a traditional "Friends" episode; with commercials, the show is expected to end at around 8:40 p.m. rather than 8:30.
For two weeks during the sweeps, NBC will fill the remainder of the 8 p.m. hour with special, shortened editions of "SNL." The segments will be live from New York and feature the show's regular cast. NBC is still working on what will fill the rest of the 8 p.m. hour during the other two weeks of the February sweeps.
There had been speculation that NBC might stick in clip shows or repeats of "Friends" or "Will & Grace" in the 8:30 p.m. slot normally occupied by "The Weber Show" (formerly known as "Cursed"), which will go on hiatus during the sweeps. Zucker, however, felt it was important that the network try something different.
"We're always looking for a fresh, innovative approach to bring viewers to our programming," said Zucker, who took over as entertainment boss last month.
Zucker had last week pledged that NBC would not "roll over and die" in the wake of CBS' decision to schedule "Survivor 2" opposite "Friends" on Thursday. NBC's 8:30 p.m. Thursday series has traditionally lost a sizable chunk of its "Friends" lead-in; the hope now is that by expanding "Friends," viewers will stay tuned to NBC rather than switch over for the second half of CBS' likely ratings juggernaut. NBC is also upping the guest star quotient on "Friends" next month, booking thespians Susan Sarandon and Jason Alexander.
It's unclear to what extent producer Warner Bros. TV and the "Friends" cast will be compensated for the extra footage. A final deal on the XL episodes is still being hammered out, though insiders expect a pact to be wrapped up by the end of the week.
Tana