Top American TV shows are renewed

The casts of ER, Angel and The Practice all got the good news this week that their shows had been renewed for at least another year.

It was announced at the annual TV upfronts, a razzle-dazzle show put on by the six major American networks for media buyers.

While the network suits negotiate advertising rates and try to generate buzz for their new series, it's that time of year when TV viewers find out if their favourite American shows are slated to return to the tube.

NBC's decision to renew ER through 2006, it's 12th season, is hardly a medical miracle.

The top-rated drama, which turned 200 episodes old last week, had already been slated to run through 2004.

A permanent fixture in the Nielsen top 10 since it launched in 1994, ER currently ranks a healthy eighth in the American prime-time series this season.

Angel and The Practice will also return for a fifth and sixth season respectively.