CBS has renewed Pittsburgh-set drama series "The Guardian" for a second season.
"The Guardian" has improved CBS's ratings performance in the 9 p.m. Tuesday time period in households and key demographics.
Other CBS series receiving early pickups: "The King of Queens," "Yes, Dear," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Becker," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "JAG," "Judging Amy" and "The District."
One series that likely won't live to see a second season is "The Ellen Show," which this week saw its episode order cut from 22 to 18 episodes.
Other CBS series awaiting word of their fate include "The Education of Max Bickford," "The Agency," "Touched by an Angel," "Family Law," "First Monday" and "That's Life."
(Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV Editor)
'Survivor' auditions
CBS has not officially ordered a fifth edition of "Survivor" for fall, according to Daily Variety, but it's expected to do so barring a ratings free fall for No. 4, which premieres in late February.
KDKA is hosting auditions for a future "Survivor" from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. next Wednesday at Kaufmann's stores in Robinson, Monroeville and Downtown.
"Survivor: Africa" contestant Kelly Goldsmith will be on hand during the auditions Downtown (11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.), in Monroeville (2 to 3:40 p.m.) and in Robinson (5 to 6:30 p.m.). For details, visit http://www.kdka.com.
(R.O.)
The WB expands
The WB will increase the number of hours it programs each week beginning this fall with reruns of hit shows airing on WB stations from 5 to 7 p.m.
"In the past, both '7th Heaven' and 'Gilmore Girls' have benefited dramatically by airing twice in the same broadcast week," said WB chief operating officer Jed Petrick in a statement.
Specific shows will be announced later.
(R.O.)
Listings errors
All local published TV guides, along with TiVo, have incorrect listings this week that say "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" has moved to 9 a.m. on KDKA and "Weakest Link" is on at 4 p.m.
At one point KDKA planned to make that switch and sent information to the various listings services to that effect. Plans changed and information on the reversal did not make it to the listings services. "Rosie" stays at 4 p.m.
The listings will be correct in the Feb. 10 issue of the Post-Gazette's TV Week.
(R.O.)
Oops, she does it again
Britney Spears will appear as host and guest on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" (11:30 p.m. Saturday, WPXI) this weekend. It will be the pop star's second "SNL" appearance.
(R.O.)
Cable leads in raunchiness
"South Park" leads the pack of basic cable shows bringing a new level of raunchiness and violence to television, according to a watchdog group's new study.
The rate of sexual references, profanity and violence in prime-time cable series was found to be more than double that of broadcast television, the Parents Television Council said.
"Hollywood's push-the-primetime-envelope mindset, it seems, has become established in the cable business," the council said in its study.
"South Park," an animated show on Comedy Central, was overall the most "offensive series," the study said, with a per-hour combined average of 126 violent or raunchy moments.
The MTV shows "Undergrads" and "Celebrity Deathmatch" were next with, respectively, 73 and 66 such references.
"Undergrads," an animated series not on the current MTV schedule, had the most sexual material with a per-hour average of 28.4 references, according to the nonprofit council's first study of cable content.
The combined average for all shows was 21.7, while the combined average found in the council's latest study of broadcast network programming (for fall 1999) was 9.8.
The study examined 33 series, for a total of nearly 112 hours, that were shown between last April and September. The council focused on basic cable, which reaches about three-quarters of U.S. households, rather than less widely distributed premium services such as HBO or Showtime.
(Lynn Elber, The Associated Press)
'Chamber' falls
Fox is pulling low-rated "The Chamber" from its schedule in favor of sitcom repeats and movies. Three remaining episodes will likely air this spring.
The network had rushed the Dick Clark-produced game show to the air earlier this month to beat a similar show on ABC, "The Chair," Both shows force contestants to answer questions under duress, and both are mired in litigation: Fox is suing ABC, while the producers of "The Chair" are suing Fox.
(Associated Press)
E-mail this story 
