'New Amsterdam' Put On Hold

The network has pulled the "Highlander" sound-a-like off its fall schedule, moving it to mid-season when people actually tune in to watch Fox. In fact, according to Variety, that's exactly what network officials are hoping to accomplish: More viewers in the fall when "American Idol" isn't dominating the schedule.

"Our No. 1 goal has been to go into a fourth quarter where we can be competitive," said Preston Beckman, who is in charge of scheduling for Fox, adding that "New Amsterdam" will be replaced with "Don't Forget the Lyrics," which has had decent summertime ratings for the network. "I think the show ['Lyrics'] is real, and that allowed us to look at our schedule and make changes that will put us in a better position during a time of year that we generally don't do too well."

"New Amsterdam" is a story of a man who can't die, and is now living in present-day New York. It is among nearly a dozen genre shows in development by networks and cable channels this coming television season, and has seemingly been lost in the shuffle with hype over upcoming NBC series such as "Bionic Woman" and the second season of "Heroes."

In the meantime, production will continue for "New Amsterdam," which is now slated to premiere at mid-season, around the same time as the "Sarah Connor Chronicles," another genre show by Fox that was bumped to mid-season last month.

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