Exit laughing: NBC retreats from comedy

May 14, 2007 And, in a hint of the new direction the broadcast networks will be taking in the face of audience demand for as many originals of their favorite series as possible, NBC's top comedies "The Office" and "My Name Is Earl" will produce 30 and 28 episodes, respectively, next season. NBC is set to unveil its fall schedule today in New York following down-to-the-wire negotiations that secured the return of two veteran NBC series -- drama "Law & Order" and comedy "Scrubs" -- both of which had had potential suitors, TNT and ABC, respectively. NBC ended up ordering only one new comedy series, "The IT Crowd," which is said to have received a six-episode order for midseason.

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