'Joey' will chart the life of Matt LeBlanc playing the big-hearted character after his friends have left. It takes the regular 8pm slot that was occupied by 'Friends' on Thursdays.
In 'Joey' Le Blanc head to Los Angeles to boost his acting career when he gets a chance to star in a new prime-time TV series. In LA he moves in with his sister Gina, Drea de Matteo from 'The Sopranos', and her 20-year-old son, Michael Paulo Costanzo from comedy hit 'Road Trip'.
The last espisode of 'Friends', which aired in the US recently, attracted 51m viewers. It airs in the UK next week.
Ratings winner 'The Apprentice', starring property magnate Donald Trump, will also return to US screens in autumn. Brand Republic reported yesterday that a UK version of the show is also planned and will be fronted by Amstrad boss Sir Alan Sugar.
NBC unveiled the new look schedule to advertisers this week, who are expected to buy around $9bn worth of commercial airtime. Programming will begin in late August after the Olympics and is said to be one of NBC's biggest network shake-ups in years.
Jeff Zucker, president of the NBC Universal Television Group, said in a statement: "The bottom line is we are so much stronger than we expected to be at this point."
Other shows which have be planned are 'Revelations', a thriller starring Bill Pullman as a scientist worried about Armageddon, which will fill in for 'The West Wing'; 'The Contender', a boxing reality series starring Sylvester Stallone, which will go up against Fox's 'American Idol' on Tuesdays, and 'LAX', an airport drama starring Heather Locklear. The US version of 'The Office' is also scheduled for mid season.
The US version of the 'The Office' finally got the go ahead earlier this week after a pilot episode of the BBC show starring Ricky Gervais was panned by its audience and critics.
ABC and WB networks are also expected to announce their schedules this week.
In the UK, Channel 4 is yet to unveil what will replace 'Friends' in the popular 9pm slot, although many have speculated that it will be 'The Simpsons', which moves from the BBC. Thirty second ads in the three breaks during the final hour-long episode have changed hands for £100,000, 70% higher than usual. Channel 4 has scheduled the first episode of the new Big Brother directly afterward to capitalise on the expected huge audience.
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