The network guessing game

Notice that not many new shows this season are being cancelled? Notice that not many new shows are getting full-season pick-ups? As explained in THR, the networks are hedging their bets by ordering just a few new scripts at a time. Just recently, ABC's "Help Me Help You" and "The Nine" received orders for four more scripts, while NBC's struggling "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" got the go-ahead for three more. Virtually all of the new shows have been given such extensions. The networks find themselves in an interesting fix: Cancelling their high-priced dramas (some of them running $3 million an episode) means taking a considerable bath - and at a time when their parent companies are keeping a watchful eye on costs. But ordering up a full season means making a commitment for shows that, in some cases, have been ratings laggards. Ordering a few scripts at a time seems to be the middle ground.