By now, it's no surprise that Beatrice Arthur won't be returning to "The Golden Girls" after this season.
And it's been widely reported that the remaining cast members (Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan and Betty White) will take over a small Miami hotel in a spinoff series, "The Golden Palace."But now it seems that "Palace" may not be on NBC's schedule after all - but it may end up on CBS.
A CBS spokeswoman said Tuesday, "We can't comment on that - yet." And NBC wouldn't say anything at all, but the lack of a denial gives the report some credence.
What reportedly happened is that the producers (Witt-Thomas-Harris and Touchstone) weren't exactly thrilled that NBC was only willing to order 13 episodes of "Palace" for the fall. And then CBS stepped in with an offer for a full season's worth of shows, 22.
Although the ratings for "The Golden Girls," which debuted in 1985, have dropped off somewhat this season - due at least in part to an earlier time slot - the show still ranks in the top 30.
Expect to hear an official announcement from CBS - or NBC - shortly.RAIDING THE COMPETITION: If "The Golden Palace" does end up on CBS, it would be the second series that network has taken from NBC. "In the Heat of the Night" makes the switch in September.
And already on CBS's schedule is "Davis Rules," a sitcom that aired on ABC last season.
Not to mention the fact that yet another series currently airing on NBC, "Matlock," is moving to ABC.
Not only is it difficult keeping up with shows moving from one time slot to another on the same network, it's getting harder to remember which show is on which network.MORE RENEWALS: NBC may not get the "Golden Girls" spinoff, but it will have two other Witt-Thomas-Harris Saturday sitcoms back on the schedule this fall.
The Peacock has renewed "Nurses" for next season and "Empty Nest" for the next two seasons - and for an unusually large number of episodes, 26 per season.
Another of CBS's popular Monday night shows has received an extra-large pickup order - "Evening Shade" has been renewed for two seasons.
("Northern Exposure" received a two-season pickup earlier this month.)
"Evening Shade's" competition on NBC, "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," has also been renewed, but for just one season, not two.
"Fresh Prince" trails "Shade" overall but is the second most popular show among teens, trailing only "Beverly Hills, 90210."
The most surprising renewal so far comes from ABC, which picked up the low-rated (No. 83 overall) series "The Commish." And, still more surprising, the network ordered a full season - 22 episodes.RE-"DESIGNING": For the first time, "Designing Women" creator/executive producer Linda Blood-worth-Thomason has admitted that the show has suffered creatively this season and that she's contemplating cast changes for next season.
Bloodworth-Thomason told Phil Kloer of the Cox News Service that she, CBS and Julia Duffy will decide by May 1 if Duffy's character, Allison Sugar-baker, will return to the sitcom next season.
"Julia Duffy doesn't want to be part of something that's not working," Bloodworth-Thomason told Kloer. "Julia is faultless. She's acted her heart out."
She also said that Jackee may join the cast as a regular or recurring character, Anthony's fiancee, that Charlene (Jean Smart) will probably return for several episodes, and that Carlene (Jan Hooks) will definitely be back but her character "will be written as stronger and deeper."THE RATINGS: After narrowly losing to ABC two weeks ago, CBS narrowly beat the alphabet network last week in the ratings race. CBS averaged a 12.2 rating, ABC a 12.1, NBC an 11.1 and Fox an 8.7.
The top 10 shows were: 1. "6O Minutes," CBS; 2. "Roseanne," ABC; 3. "Murphy Brown," CBS; 4. "Home Improvement," ABC; 5. "Coach,"; 6. "Unsolved Mysteries," NBC; 7. "Northern Exposure," CBS; 8. "Designing Women," CBS; 9. "Full House," ABC; 10. "Major Dad," CBS.