• January 28, 2002

"The Caroline Rhea Show," a new daytime talker billed as a successor to Rosie O'Donnell's soon-to-end show, has been picked up by stations in the key markets of Los Angeles and Chicago.

Producer Warner Bros. TV announced the deal Thursday, the last day of the National Assn. of Television Program Executives convention. The studio also gave the green light to "Celebrity Justice," a newsmagazine focusing on the legal struggles of the famous. It landed deals with stations covering more than 70% of the country, including NBC-owned WNBC New York and WMAQ Chicago, and Young Broadcasting's KCAL Los Angeles.

KCAL also picked up "Caroline," along with WCIU Chicago, bringing the series' national clearance level to 64%. Earlier this week, Warners announced a deal with eight ABC-owned stations, including those in New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Houston.

Meanwhile, NBC Enterprises said that by Wednesday it had closed deals to expand the clearance level of "The John Walsh Show," which was picked up by the NBC-owned stations earlier this month.