Big TV News, Part 1: The Peacock

There's some rather cool news floating around in the days before the upfronts begin.

We'll start with NBC. Michael Ausiello at TV Guide seems to know everything about what's coming up for NBC and ABC this week. Both networks have yet to announce anything officially, so just know that this is still speculation.

According to Ausiello, NBC is renewing Friday Night Lights for a second season! — which I couldn't be more thrilled about. I thought, like most people, it would be an insufferable series about a bunch of football players and their annoying friends and overbearing parents. But it's so not. I can't even begin to describe the quality of writing and acting. I highly recommend a viewing of the DVD when it's released this summer.

The other good news is that Scrubs will be back for a seventh (and regrettably final) season next year. It'll only be 18 episodes (instead of the usual 22 or 24). I've watched and loved this show since season one. I'll be sad to see it go. I hope — no, I know the writers will do a bang-up job closing out the show.

Anyway, NBC has also apparently given series orders to the pilots they plan to announce pick-ups of this fall. And the winners are... Chuck, Journeyman, Life, and rather unbelievably, The Bionic Woman. Those are just the dramas. No word on comedies yet, it would seem.

I'm a little annoyed in that I don't think "The Bionic Woman" will be any good from everything I've read. I also expected them to pick up "Winters" — the pilot written by David Shore ("House") and starring Famke Janssen ("X-Men"). I'm also pretty sure NBC told the producers of "Lipstick Jungle" to start staffing up, so I don't know.

Regardless, we find out how everything goes down for sure on Monday afternoon. Now, stay tuned for an ABC update tonight.