Scheduling Five-Spot, WE 12/5/10 - The Biggest Loser, Archer/Lights Out, Body of Proof, Dexter, Chase

Here's your Five-Spot of TV scheduling news for the week ending December 5, 2010:

The Biggest Loser Moves to 9/8c - This might not be "news" for this week, more likely back when the listings came out, but the reality show aired at 9/8c on Tuesday this week and will the next two weeks (led into by game show Minute to Win It). The show has taken a beating against DWTS and Glee all season, but things finally turned around on Tuesday as it got away from both and posted a 2.9 demo, tying the season high set for its premiere. That's way up from recent numbers which have oft been south of 2.5.

Archer/Lights Out Premiere Dates - Animated spy comedy Archer will return to Thursday at 10/9c on January 27, and it's likely in for another fairly low-rated season. (It averaged just a 0.51 in its first season in early 2010.) Boxing drama Lights Out will inherit the Sons of Anarchy timeslot on Tuesday at 10/9c, kicking off on January 11.

Body of Proof Heads for Tuesday - The Tuesday 10:00 hour on ABC seems to be shaping up exactly as it did last year: the fall program (The Forgotten last year, Detroit 1-8-7 this year) gets a small extension, then another new program fills in (V last year, Body of Proof this year). This one will show up on March 29, just in time to get the DWTS Results lead-in. For this show, it's a considerable upgrade from its announced position at the upfront (Fridays at 9/8c).

Dexter Renewed - No real surprise here, but the ratings crown jewel of Showtime is returning for a sixth season. The 1.1 demo for the November 28 episode tied the penultimate episode of season 4 for the second-highest rated ep in the show's history. (In viewers, it was the second-highest outright.) There are two eps left in this season, meaning the show should have a pretty good shot to tie or exceed its current ratings high, a 1.3 demo for the season 4 finale on 12/13/09.

Chase Cut to 18 Episodes - I wrote in a recent post about producer clout that Chase had become the first new Jerry Bruckheimer show since 2005 to get a back nine, even if it was a pretty undeserved one. Well... scratch that. The show has gotten "Kath & Kimmed" or "Knight Ridered" from a declared full season order down to just 18 episodes. It should further confirm that there's not much of a future for this show, and the Wednesday 9/8c slot that it inherits early in 2011 won't do it any favors.

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