A bevy of series have undergone sked changes, so get ready to follow the bouncing ball on the following launches…Wife Swap, the hit Brit show beaten to the punch by Fox format clone Trading Mommies, now debuts Sunday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m., then moves to Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Another reality entry, Lost, has its two-hour premiere Saturday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. Desperate Housewives, the quirky new nighttime soap aimed at female viewers, picked by many pundits as a likely hit, takes the Sunday 7 p.m. time-slot, bowing Oct. 3.
Returning series have also moved around. Law & Order has been added to the sked Monday Sept. 27 at 9 p.m. (part one), and on Sept. 30, witch potboiler Charmed tackles Thursdays at 8 p.m. for a six-ep arc (targeting even more MTV-gen eyeballs with Newlyweds‘ Nick Lachey guesting). The series resumes its regular time-slot, Saturdays at 5 p.m. on Nov. 6. The Amazing Race 6 premiere is as yet unscheduled.
Due to the success of Medical Investigation, CTV will continue to air the series Fridays at 10 p.m. in simulcast with NBC. As a result, Dr. Vegas will be shelved. Medical Investigation premiered Sept. 9 on CTV and moved to Fridays at 10 p.m. on Sept. 10.
And while it ain’t hockey, fights should break out when Dr. Phil Primetime Special: Family First airs on CTV Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. Hidden camera footage of a seriously out-of-control family provides fodder for some parenting dos and don’ts from Oprah’s favourite self-helper in this two-hour special. Celeb child-rearing advice from Nicole Kidman, Robert Redford and Will Smith is also delivered, and Dr. Phil tries to help a family whose son scores 10 out of a possible 14 serial killer traits. Since 4.3 million Canucks check out Dr. Phil’s daytime talker every week, his initial dip into primetime likely means there’ll be tears before bedtime for competitors in tomorrow night’s time-slot.
