WHEN ARE YOU FAVORITE SHOWS RETURNING?

Now that the writers' strike is over, TV shows are going back into production . . . and we can now begin talking about when your favorite shows will return with new episodes.


CBS has announced the return dates for 14 of its shows. Here they are . . . along with the number of new episodes you can expect before the end of this TV season . . .


--"How I Met Your Mother", March 17th . . . (--NINE more episodes.)

--"The Big Bang Theory", March 17th . . . (--NINE more episodes.)

--"Two and a Half Men", March 17th . . . (--NINE more episodes.)

--"CSI: Miami", March 17th . . . (--NINE more episodes.)

--"Cold Case", March 30th . . . (--FIVE more episodes.)

--"Criminal Minds", April 2nd . . . (--SEVEN more episodes.)

--"CSI: New York", April 2nd . . . (--SEVEN more episodes.)

--"CSI", April 3rd . . . (--SIX more episodes.)

--"Without A Trace", April 3rd . . . (--SIX more episodes.)

--"Ghost Whisperer", April 4th . . . (--SIX more episodes.)

--"Numb3rs", April 4th . . . (--SIX more episodes.)

--"NCIS", April 8th . . . (--SEVEN more episodes.)

--"Moonlight", April 11th . . . (--FOUR more episodes.)

--"Rules of Engagement", April 14th . . . (--SIX more episodes.)


There will also be FOUR more episodes of "Shark" sometime this spring . . . but CBS didn't announce a return date for it.


Meanwhile, NBC has also released some updates on their shows: "Saturday Night Live" will return on February 23rd, with former "SNL" minx TINA FEY as the guest host. The following week, the guest host will be "Juno" star ELLEN PAGE.


On April 10th, "The Office", "30 Rock", "Scrubs" and "ER" will all be back with new episodes. Producers are hoping to finish six or seven new episodes of "The Office" this season . . . and five new episodes of "30 Rock" are in the works.

"My Name is Earl" will return with a new, hour-long episode on April 3rd. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" will be back on April 15th . . . and the original "Law & Order" will come back on April 23rd.


NBC also announced that they've picked up three shows . . . "Heroes", "Chuck" and "Life" . . . for the 2008 - 2009 TV season. No new episodes of those shows are expected until the fall.

--"TV Guide" has been keeping a list of all this chaos. They claim it's updated HOURLY . . . which seems unnecessary. Regardless, you can check it out, here . . .
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Wga-Strike-Favorite/800032698