ABC extends Monk 's stay

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ABC has picked up eight more episodes of detective drama Monk, which
scored cross-network success last summer on both parent network USA Network on Fridays
and in reairings on ABC on Tuesdays.

Starting Sept. 26, however, ABC will run the Tony Shalhoub-starrer on
Thursdays at 8 p.m. against two powerhouses: NBC's Friends and CBS'
Survivor. The show will lead in to Push, Nevada at 9 p.m.

ABC will delay the premiere of Dinotopia, which had been slated for
the Thursday 8 p.m. time period. The first episode of Dinotopia, which is
produced by Hallmark Television, is not quite ready and will premiere on
Thanksgiving eve, Nov. 28.

Sources estimated that ABC is paying approximately $300,000 per episode for the
detective show, which is produced by Mandeville Films in association with
Touchstone Television and distributed by USA Cable Networks.

Touchstone originally developed the show for ABC, but the network passed on
it for a first-run airing.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.