ABC stakes 'Alias' slot

Sci-fi thriller 'Invasion' also returns to Wednesday spot

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

'Alias,' starring Jennifer Garner, will finish its ABC run on Wednesdays, returning to the net's sked April 19.

ABC has found a final home for "Alias," which will move to Wednesdays in the spring.

"Alias," which has been off the air since the end of last year, will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. starting April 19, when it returns with a two-hour special episode. After that, "Alias" will continue in the 8 p.m. slot through May, as a lead-in to J.J. Abrams' other primetime staple, "Lost."

Sci-fi thriller "Invasion" also returns to its Wednesday 10 p.m. slot on April 19.

Meanwhile, ABC also announced that it has moved back the premiere of new drama "What About Brian" -- yet another entry from Abrams' Bad Robot shingle and Touchstone TV -- by two weeks. Show will now sneak on Sunday, April 16 at 10 p.m. (pre-empting "Grey's Anatomy" for a night), before moving to its regular Monday 10 p.m. slot starting April 17.

That gives the net a chance to run the four-hour original movie "The Ten Commandments" the previous week. The Hallmark Entertainment-produced event, starring Dougray Scott, Naveen Andrews and Omar Sharif, will air from 9 to 11 p.m. on both Monday, April 10 and Tuesday, April 11.

Net also is bringing back the Kelly Ripa/Faith Ford laffer "Hope & Faith," and moving it to Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. (behind "According to Jim") starting March 21.