LOS ANGELES – "Joey" (search) is doing OK without all those friends, so NBC gave the "Friends" spinoff a full-season pickup Thursday.
The network ordered at least nine additional episodes of the sitcom starring Matt LeBlanc (search), who moved over to his own show after "Friends" wrapped its decade-long run. Drea de Matteo (search) ("The Sopranos") co-stars.
NBC trumpeted "Joey" as the season's top-rated new comedy among adults ages 18 to 49 and among total viewers, and the No. 2 comedy overall in the advertiser-favored 18-to-49 demographic, behind NBC's "Will & Grace."
But the series has yet to match the success of "Friends," which had been a bulwark of NBC's Thursday schedule.
CBS' "Survivor" drew more viewers last week in head-to-head competition with "Joey" and "Will & Grace," undermining NBC's longtime domination of Thursday night — a key night for lucrative weekend movie ads.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox