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NBC plans six new series, plus Leno

Fourth-place NBC, handing off five hours of prime time to Jay Leno this fall, unveiled six new series to advertisers Monday but left the fates of “Chuck,” “Medium” and “My Name Is Earl” in limbo.

Among newcomers:

• “Parenthood,” NBC’s second remake of Ron Howard’s 1989 hit film about a sprawling family, starring Peter Krause (“Dirty Sexy Money”) and Maura Tierney (“ER”). (The first attempt was short-lived in 1990.)

• “Trauma,” a big-budget action yarn about a team of paramedics, shot on location in San Francisco.

• “Community,” a sitcom starring Joel McHale (“The Soup”) as an ex-lawyer who joins a band of misfit students at a community college. Chevy Chase co-stars.

Those three series, expected to air this fall, will be joined later by “Mercy,” a soapy drama focusing on a hospital nursing staff; “100 Questions,” a sitcom about a woman seeking Mr. Right with the help of a dating counselor and some pals; and “Day One,” a 13-episode series about the aftermath of a global catastrophe, to be launched after the Winter Olympics. “Day One” is being eyed to share a Monday time slot with “Heroes,” due back for as few as 18 episodes, down from 25 this season.

“We’re picking up more programs than last year and are more committed to scripted (series) than ever before, even with Leno filling the 10 p.m. time slot,” says NBC Universal TV co-chairman Ben Silverman. All four of last fall’s newcomers were canceled.

Still “on the bubble” between renewal and cancellation are “Earl,” for which NBC is seeking a steep price cut; “Medium” and “Chuck,” dueling for a returning-series slot (“Chuck” has a slight edge); and “Law & Order,” which is expected back for at least a partial season.

The network also plans at least six more half-hour “Saturday Night Live” “Weekend Update” specials for Thursday nights this fall.

“The Jay Leno Show,” coming in early September, is a top priority; NBC’s full schedule, due May 19, is being designed to help funnel viewers to the new weeknight program.

Among changes, “Law & Order: SVU” will shift to Wednesdays, possibly joined by “Southland,” and in a departure from past years, the network promises two hours of original scripted series on Fridays.

Leno “enables us to schedule more aggressively and surgically from 8 to 10,” Silverman says. But entertainment president Angela Bromstad told advertisers that “it’s absolutely critical that we bring you new hits this season.”

NBC is averaging 8 million viewers — down 4 percent — even though it aired a record-setting Super Bowl, and trails top-rated CBS by nearly 4 million. But “Leno” isn’t likely to prevail over dramas on competing networks. “We can only hope Jay expands his (late-night) audience,” Silverman says, “but we’d be happy just with the same.”