Lost Spends Idol Time in New Slot

Wed., Dec. 6, 2006 1:49 PM PST by Gina Serpe

Forget a little black smoke. The Lost cast is facing a far more destructive monster: Simon Cowell.

Proving perfectly content to blink first in the name of ratings preservation, ABC has announced plans to switch Lost's time slot when it returns from hiatus in February, thereby avoiding pitting the drama in direct competition with Fox's American Idol.

Upon returning to the airwaves in February, Sawyer, Kate & Co. will get back to the business of figuring out just what the hell is going on in a slightly later time slot. Instead of its usual Wednesdays-at-9 residence, the show will move back to 10 p.m.

As a result of the switch, Lost will go head-to-head with NBC's Medium and CBS' CSI: NY.

So far this season, Lost's six-episode run has averaged 17.8 million viewers. By comparison, CSI: NY has averaged fewer viewers (16.7 million), but could prove to be a formidable opponent in the 18-to-49 demo, while Medium has drawn 8.8 million pairs of eyes, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Last year, Lost...lost nearly 6 million viewers after going head to head with Idol, and ABC is looking to avoid any further ratings slippage.

American Idol, meanwhile, averaged 30.2 million on Wednesdays last season.

With ABC seeking to shelter its hit franchise from the wrath of Paula Abdul, the network is offering up a few sacrificial lambs.

At 9 p.m., the network will run the comedy Knights of Prosperity, starring Donal Logue and Sofia Vergara as leaders of a group of modern-age Robin Hoods who hatch a plot to break into Mick Jagger's Manhattan apartment.

At 9:30 p.m., In Case of Emergency will likely be calling 911. The sitcom, starring David Arquette, Jonathan Silverman, Greg Germann, Kelly Hu and Lori Loughlin, revolves around a group of reunited high school friends in the throes of less-than-ideal adult lives.

The shows have just two weeks to attempt to secure an audience. Both series premiere Jan. 3, while American Idol joins the fray Jan. 16.

Lost returns to its new time Feb. 7. However, ABC has yet to announce return days or times for displaced series Daybreak and The Nine, which had been playing in the 10 p.m. Wednesday slot.

As for other midseason offerings, NBC heralds the return of its own once-giant reality competition, The Apprentice, Jan. 7.

This season, 18 new yuppies-in-training, among them an Olympic medalist and a publicist, will descend upon L.A. to vie for the chance to be Donald Trump's right-hand crony.