NBC announced its first quarter 2008 schedule yesterday, and noticeably absent was any mention of Dateline. An episode is scheduled to air this Wednesday, but there are no plans for broadcasts beyond that date. Dateline’s last hour of programming aired September 10.
It was thought that because of the WGA strike affecting scripted programming, Dateline would ramp up production. Matea Gold of The Los Angeles Times reported last month, “Dateline staffers were instructed to be ready to produce as many as three hours a week after the new year. The show, which has long served as a fill-in for NBC, has spent this fall readying new episodes, including a few new installments of its controversial ‘To Catch a Predator’ series.”
UPDATE: An NBC News spokesperson tells TVNewser that Dateline will also air on December 21 and 28 for two hours each night.