A Good Omen for 'Medium'

Zap2It.com | April 10, 2007

Patricia Arquette on 'Medium'

Discuss this story now

No pickup yet, but NBC asks for more scripts

NBC's drama "Medium" may have moved a step away from the bubble and toward a spot on the schedule for next season.

The network has asked for six more scripts of the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That doesn't guarantee any sort of episodic commitment for 2007-08, but it's typically seen as a move in the right direction.

The show stars Patricia Arquette as the title character, a psychically gifted mother of three who uses her abilities to help the Phoenix district attorney's office solve cases. Arquette won an Emmy for the role in 2005.

A solid performer in its first two seasons, "Medium" has suffered some ratings erosion this year as it moved to Wednesday nights from its former Monday home. Airing opposite CBS' "CSI: NY" and now ABC's "Lost," the series is averaging about 8.7 million viewers per week, down from 11.1 million last season.

Still, it regularly builds on its lead-in ("Crossing Jordan," which is also on the bubble) and draws a passable 3.0 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic.

The extra scripts could also be a hedge against a potential writers strike later this year, although according to the HR, it's unclear if that had anything to do with NBC's action. The current Writers Guild contract expires Oct. 31; negotiations between producers and writers on a new deal are expected to start over the summer.