With "Grey's Anatomy" doing boffo numbers on Sunday night, ABC has decided to keep TV's top-rated new drama of the year right where it is.
Medical drama had been skedded for a four-week trial run, with "Boston Legal" set to return to the post- "Desperate Housewives" slot at the end of the month. But with "Grey's" doing so well -- it actually added viewers in its second week -- Alphabet schedulers figured it made no sense to mess with a good thing, especially with the ratings race as tight as it is.
As a result, "Boston Legal" fans will wait until next season to see high-profile guest stars such as Heather Locklear and Rupert Everett. Thesps had taped episodes for May sweeps; instead, those segs will give ABC an extra boost when it relaunches "BL" next fall.
"We're in the enviable position of having two shows that have each performed extremely well for us Sundays at 10 -- 'Boston Legal' and 'Grey's Anatomy,' " ABC Entertainment prexy Steve McPherson said in a statement released by ABC late Friday. "Ultimately we decided that, without having adequate lead time or marketing dollars to devote to moving either show so late in the season, we'd continue to let 'Grey's' build on its tremendous momentum through May."
Delaying 'Legal' has another upside: It will give ABC the "luxury of bringing 'Boston Legal' back next season with an unheard-of 27 original episodes," McPherson added.
In its first two airings, "Grey's" has averaged 17 million viewers and a 7.4/18 among adults 18-49, easily dominating its timeslot. While "BL" did fine in the timeslot, its numbers didn't come close to what "Grey" has averaged so far.
No decision has been made as to what night "BL" will air next season. However, if "Gray's" continues its current success, it seems likely "BL" will move to a new night.
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