Several news items have come in courtesy of EW’s Michael Ausiello on shows that survived the axe, the ones that didn’t, and fresh fodder for next year’s chopping block…or not.  Here’s a breakdown:

NBC

Canceled:

  • Mercy: No major surprise there.
  • Trauma:  Ditto
  • UPDATED: Heroes: And now a moment of silence…(thanks TBers)
  • Law & Order: Whoa.  From Ausiello’s article:

    “The full measure of the collective contributions made by Dick Wolf and his Law & Order
    franchise over the last two decades to the success of NBC and Universal
    Media Studios cannot be overstated,” said NBC Chairman Jeff Gaspin.
    “The legacy of his original Law & Order series will continue to make an impact like no other series before.”

    Peacock president Angela Bromstad added: “Law & Order
    has been one of the most successful franchises in the history of
    television, which is why it is so critical that we continue this
    important brand and our relationship with Dick Wolf and his team with LOLA and Law & Order: SVU.”

Renewed:

  • Chuck (fudge, yeah):  It wasn’t ever in the danger it was last year and this past season has upped both the fun and the possibilities. 
  • Law & Order: SVU: Maybe it can shoot for 21 seasons.

Picked Up:

  •  Law & Order: Los Angeles: Of course.  Maybe they can have a Tinseltown head-to-head with NCIS: Los Angeles.  Obviously the cost of doing this new show will be less than the original.  Surprised they didn’t just axe everyone on the flagship show and start fresh to nab that Gunsmoke record outright. 

(From NBC Press Release):

  • The Cape is a one-hour drama series starring David Lyons (ER)
    as Vince Faraday, an honest cop on a corrupt police force, who finds
    himself framed for a series of murders and presumed dead. He is forced
    into hiding, leaving behind his wife, Dana (Jennifer Ferrin, Life on Mars) and son, Trip (Ryan Wynott, FlashForward).
    Fueled by a desire to reunite with his family and to battle the
    criminal forces that have overtaken Palm City, Faraday becomes The Cape his son’s favorite comic book superhero — and takes the law into his own hands. Rounding out the cast are James Frain (The Tudors) as billionaire Peter Fleming — The Cape’s nemesis -— who moonlights as the twisted killer: Chess; Keith David (Death at a Funeral)
    as Max Malini, the ringleader of a circus gang of bank robbers who
    mentors Vince Faraday and trains him to be The Cape; Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as Orwell, an investigative blogger who wages war on crime and corruption in Palm City; and Dorian Missick (Six Degrees) as Marty Voyt, a former police detective and friend to Faraday.
  • Starring Emmy Award winner Jimmy Smits (NYPD Blue), Outlaw is a new drama from executive producer John Eisendrath (Alias).
    Cyrus Garza (Smits) is a Supreme Court justice who abruptly quits the
    high-level position. A playboy and a gambler, Garza had always adhered
    to a strict interpretation of the law until he realized the system he
    believed in was flawed. Now that he’s quit the bench and returned to
    private practice, he’s determined to represent “the little guy” and use
    his inside knowledge of the justice system to take on today’s biggest
    legal cases — and he’s making plenty of powerful people unhappy along
    the way. Jesse Bradford (West Wing), Carly Pope (24), Ellen Woglom (Californication) and David Ramsey (Dexter) also star.
  • Emmy Award-winning creator David E. Kelley brings his unique storytelling to Harry’s Law,
    a series about fate and the people it brings together, starring Academy
    Award winner Kathy Bates. Harriet (Bates), Matthew (Ben Chaplin, Me and Orson Welles) and Malcolm (Aml Ameen, Kidulthood)
    couldn’t be any more different. Harriet is a curmudgeonly ex-patent
    lawyer who, having just been fired from her cushy job, is completely
    disillusioned with her success and looking for a fresh start. Her world
    unexpectedly collides with Malcolm’s — a young man trying to figure out
    life. When he finds out Harriet is a lawyer, he begs her to represent
    him in an upcoming criminal case. Matthew, a dreamer at heart and also
    recently fired from his job as a high school teacher, is introduced to
    Harriet through Malcolm, a previous student of his. When these three
    cross paths, they realize they’re all looking for a fresh start. Now,
    the most unlikely of people are starting a law practice in the most
    unlikely of places — a rundown shoe store.  Harry’s Law also stars Brittany Snow (Hairspray) as Harriet’s assistant, Jenna Backstrom and Beatrice Rosen (Dark Knight) as Eve, a high school French teacher.
  • From Oscar and Emmy winner Brian Grazer, Friends With Benefits
    is a half-hour comedy revolving around a group of twentysomething
    singles as they navigate the difficult, and often confusing, world of
    dating. Ben Weymouth (Ryan Hansen, Party Down) is on the hunt
    for the perfect woman who meets his unique set of standards, while his
    best friend, Sara Maxwell (Danneel Harris, One Tree Hill), is
    just looking for a man to settle down with and raise a family. Ben and
    Sara have fallen into the habit of turning to each other for moral and
    physical support as they wait for Mr. and Ms. Right to arrive. Their
    friend Aaron (Fran Kranz, Dollhouse), a romantic at heart,
    doesn’t approve of Ben and Sara’s complicated friendship, but he, along
    with womanizer Hoon (Ian Reed Kesler) and straight shooter Riley
    (Jessica Lucas, Cloverfield), are all distracted with their own dating trials and tribulations.

ABC

Canceled:

  • FlashForward: The show had potential, but just couldn’t quite seem to find its foothold.  So Benford didn’t end up killing Demetri, it was the network.
  • Better Off Ted: I actually thought this was canceled last season.
  • Scrubs: Every single drop of blood has been wrung from this thing.
  • Romantically Challenged: Laughs and originality-challenged apparently.

Renewed:

  • V: After an entire season, this thing still can’t muster any of the intrigue of even the first four hours of the original mini-series.  Still, it’s a bit less ghastly than the first four hours of its own run were.  It looks like it came down to this and FlashForward.  

Picked Up (via THR.com):

  • Jerry Bruckheimer’s legal procedural The Whole Truth, from
    Bonanza/Bruckheimer/Warner Bros., follows a unique narrative
    structure that shifts perspectives to keep viewers guessing.
  • Ensemble documentary-style dramedy from ABC Studios My Generation
    (previously titled Generation Y), follows a group of former high
    school classmates.
  • Michael Imperioli-starring cop dramedy, Detroit 187, from ABC Studios will also be on ABC’s schedule next
    season.
  • Comedy Mr. Sunshine from ABC Studios/Sony starring Matthew Perry as
    sports manager.
  • Jamie Tarses’ Happy Endings from FanFare/Sony,
    starring Elisha Cuthbert, about a group of friends navigating
    romance.
  • Comedy Better Together from Bonanza/Silver and Gold/Warner Bros., about
    two couples in two very different relationships.
  • Superhero drama No Ordinary Family, which was
    picked up Wednesday.