Eureka renewed!

The waters of US network telly can be a choppy, dangerous place. Even if you’re in the relatively safer shallows of cable, there’s no guarantee that you’ll stay afloat. Just this week, Ray Liotta felt the bite of cancellation as his new crime show Smith flopped in the ratings and was quietly put down. And cable series Three Moons Over Milford, a quirky family drama about the effect that an oncoming apocalypse has on a small town, has vanished after only a few episodes aired.

So it’ll be sighs of relief and backslaps all round for the creator-producers of the Sci Fi Channel’s freshly renewed Eureka (showing on Sky over here under the title A Town Called Eureka). In the States, the show was the channel’s highest-rated series of 2006 with more than 5,000,000 viewers settling down each week – and none of them dropping off as the season continued.

It’ll start shooting a second season of 13 shows this spring in Vancouver, with plans to air in summer 2007 – so expect it over here shortly after that.

Also doing well is NBC’s Heroes. The tale of a group of ordinary people who discover extraordinary abilities has been doing well on Monday nights for the channel and has had its order extended from 13 episodes to a full 22. In a weird swap, the UK Sci Fi Channel has bought the show, which features Ali Larter and Alias’ Greg Grunberg, and will air it early next year.

Sources: Sci Fi Channel/NBC/Digital Spy