TV Tidbits: Notes of Interest

Thu Oct 29, 5:32 PM ET

Retooled sitcom Scrubs, which will shift from the hospital to a med school setting, and sophomore Better Off Ted will fill the Tuesday 9 p.m. hour in between seasons of Dancing With the Stars. Scrubs will return on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 9 p.m. with back-to-back episodes on that evening, while Better Off Ted moves into the Tuesday 9:30 p.m. time period on Dec. 8.

-NBC Changes:

Freshman medical drama Trauma, which has floundered in the Monday 9 p.m. hour minus any lead-in support from relocated Heroes, will be concluding after the initial 13 episode order. But there is good news for fans of NBC's Chuck, which is expected to fill in for Heroes at 8 p.m. in January. The upcoming third season episode order has been expanded from 13 to 19.

-Marc Cherry Extends Deal With ABC:

Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry has extended his deal with ABC that could keep the domestic dramedy on the air through the 2012-13 season. At present, the show's core cast -- Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and Eva Longoria Parker -- are only committed through next season, so ABC better have plenty more of the green stuff handy. Also signing a two-year extension is Housewives' second-in-command, Bob Daily. Other potential projects for Cherry at ABC are a new dramedy and a multicamera comedy about two bothers, one gay and one straight, who share a gynecological practice.

-Coming Up at truTV:

Cable net truTV has ordered eight episodes of a yet-to-be titled series set behind-the-scenes at the Las Vegas Clark County Detention Center. Scheduled to premiere in January, the non-scripted series comes from Langley Productions, which produces Fox's long-running Cops and truTV's Inside American Jail. Next up at truTV, meanwhile, is Full Throttle Saloon, which is set at Michael Ballard's legendary biker watering hole. It premieres on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 10 p.m. ET.

-Glee's "Don't Stop Believin'" Goes Gold:

The Glee cast's rendition of Journey song "Don't Stop Believin'" has just been certified for digital sales of more than 500,000 downloads. To-date, seven songs from Glee now occupy spots in the top 200 of iTunes Top Songs chart. With American Idol waiting in the wings for a January return, chances are you will see a Glee crossover.

-SOAPnet Holiday Marathons:

Relationship-driven non-scripted Holidate will be featured in a five episode marathon on SOAPnet themed "Home for the Holidates" beginning at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26 -- Thanksgiving. One day later, everyone's favorite rebel, Dylan McKay, will be the focus of an eight episode "Chillin' With Dylan" Beverly Hills, 90210 marathon on Friday, Nov. 27. It begins at 1 p.m. ET. Leading into and out of the Dylan stunt will be episodes of Being Erica, including a sneak peak of the upcoming second season.

-Coming Up on CBS in November:

As we begin the official November 2009 sweeps period tonight, here are some programming items of note for the most-watched network, CBS:

Specials
-CBS/Strikeforce/M-1 Global Saturday Night Fights: Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 p.m. ET

Guest Stars
-Aida Turturro (The Sopranos) on Medium: Friday, Oct. 30, 9 p.m. ET
-Daniel Baldwin and Michael Learned (The Waltons) on Cold Case: Sunday, Nov. 1, 10 p.m. ET
-Marion Ross (Happy Days) on The New Adventures of Old Christine: Wednesday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m. ET
-Alan Thicke on How I Met Your Mother: Monday, Nov. 9, 8 p.m. ET
-Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) on The New Adventures of Old Christine: Wednesday, Nov. 11, 8 p.m. ET
-Lou Diamond Phillips on Numb3rs: Friday, Nov. 13, 10 p.m. ET
-Mandy Patinkin on Three Rivers: Sunday, Nov. 15, 9 p.m. ET
-Kadeem Hardison (A Different World) on Cold Case: Sunday, Nov. 15, 10 p.m. ET
-Skeet Ulrich (Jericho) and actor/musician Nelly on CSI: NY: Wednesday, Nov. 18, 10 p.m. ET

Miscellaneous:
-CSI: Miami, CSI: NY and CSI cross-over episodes featuring Laurence Fishburne: week of Nov. 9
-Criminal Minds � episode No. 100: Wednesday, Nov. 25, 9 p.m. ET

-- Marc Berman