"Las Vegas," "L Word" Picked Up

It's pickup time in TV land.

NBC is placing its bets on the freshman drama Las Vegas for a second season and believes American Dreams has enough good vibes to merit a third year. UPN, meanwhile, will be catwalking with a third and fourth installment of America's Next Top Model. Finally, Showtime is giving the "r" word--as in renewal--to The L Word.

Yes, there will be more gambling and showgirls, '60s pop music, ambitious leggy beauties and emotional lesbians on air next season--although the corporate press releases announcing these decisions are couched in more self-important terms.

NBC overlord Jeff Zucker stated that Las Vegas was this season's top-rated rookie drama and "provides flashy, high-octane entertainment." The network release notes that the series--which stars veteran James Caan and a bunch of good-looking young cohorts keeping a casino free from crime--has been averaging 12.3 million viewers despite airing in what the network calls "a rugged time period" opposite CBS' top-rated comedy Everybody Loves Raymond and ABC's Monday Night Football.

Las Vegas' Nielsen success, the Peacock trumpets, ranks its ahead of several new and established rival dramas, including Fox's The O.C. and 24, ABC's NYPD Blue and Alias, and CBS's Cold Case and Joan of Arcadia.

American Dreams, a family drama embellished by the music of Dick Clark's American Bandstand, was also designated as having a "strong 18-49 adult appeal" (the all-important demo beloved by advertisers) even though it only averages 8.6 million viewers. Besides, NBC says, the show has "multi-generational appeal with its socially relevant storytelling and ingenious use of contemporary musical guest stars." Well, if the suits say so...

Naturally producers of both shows were happy and had the sound bites to prove it. Las Vegas mastermind Gary Scott Thomas said via press release, "Jeff Zucker and NBC have been huge supporters of the series from the beginning and continue to be. We appreciate that very much."

Jonathan Price, executive producer of American Dreams, offered a slightly more skewed statement. "This week a lot of people in our industry got calls. Nominations for this. Awards for that. Me, I got the best call I could imagine--NBC's president called to say that he wants us to come back and be a part of the NBC family for a third season. That we get to continue doing the best job I've ever had the good fortune to do. Working with the most talented and passionate cast, crew, directors, and writers I know...and with a Bandstand soundtrack you can dance to. So me? I give that phone call a 98."

While Price pulled out the Bandstand reference, UPN tossed out its Webster's and came up with a brand-new word to describe its Model move. The net said it wants to continue to showcase its "hit dramality series" (yes, dramality) starring and produced by superbabe Tyra Banks.

Now in its second go-round, America's Top Model, according to the network flacks, gives "participants of various backgrounds, shapes and sizes" the "opportunity to prove that they can make it in the high-stress, high-stakes world of supermodeling" and has become "a monumental success" for the low-rated UPN. The show ranks first in its Tuesday time period with women 18-34 and the most recent episode ranked second with adults 18-13, the network's target demographic, while delivering "the best EVER" rating among women 18-34 and 18-49 (that's ages, folks, not shapes and sizes). This week's episode also notched 7.1 million viewers, a huge number for the mini-net.

UPN's corporate cousin Showtime says its reupping of The L Word is "fastest renewal in the premium network's history." The show, which debuted Jan. 18, has "generated four times the Showtime prime-time average rating," despite the second episode airing opposite the Golden Globes.

The decision to renew was "a no-brainer," says Robert Greenblatt, the cable net's programming chief. "This groundbreaking series has quickly and successfully captivated the attention of viewers, critics, journalists, and even a presidential candidate, creating the kind of incessant buzz that signals a hit." (The press release reports that General Wesley Clark has mentioned "the l word" in interviews lately, and he wasn't only referring to liberals.) Production on the next 13-episode season will begin again in June.

Alas, there will be no more production on ABC's Karen Sisco. The quirky cop drama, which was put on hiatus in November after only seven episodes but due to return to the schedule this spring, has now been officially canceled. Sources tell the Hollywood Reporter that the network was unhappy with the creative direction of the scripts. Danny DeVito was among the executive producers of the series, which starred Carla Gugino and was based on characters created by Elmore Leonard.