LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Friends" will leave NBC after next season, but "The West Wing" will serve two more years on the network.
Calling the White House drama and the ensemble comedy the "cornerstones" of the network, NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker predicted they will help keep NBC dominant next season in the ratings.
"Yes, 'Friends' will be back next year. And yes, that will be the final season. ... The door is not open after that," Zucker told the Television Critics Association on Friday.
"The West Wing" was picked up for two more years with the possibility of a third season, Zucker said. He declined to discuss how much NBC is paying producer Warner Bros. Television, but reports have estimated the price at between $5 million and $7 million per episode.
The studio has been getting about $2 million per episode from NBC.
The new license fee is less than NBC might have been forced to pay if the drama's ratings hadn't dipped this season, particularly among younger viewers drawn to ABC's "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette."
"The West Wing" posted its lowest-rated episode since the first-season finale when it squared off last week against "The Bachelorette."
The explosion of reality shows on other broadcast networks has made NBC's scripted comedies and dramas even more valuable in television's crowded landscape, Zucker said.
The return of "Friends" for a 10th season, which was previously announced, was unexpected, Zucker said. It was assumed the cast, including Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry, was ready for the show's end - despite the $1 million per episode each actor receives.
The show, however, had a creative renaissance in the last two seasons and "everyone associated with the show decided it was too much fun to give up," he said. Still, he said, it took "time and patience" to woo the cast back.
A total of 18 episodes of "Friends," including an hourlong finale, will air during the 2003-04 season. That's six fewer than this year's 24 episodes, leaving a lot of space to fill next year.
Zucker hinted at "some special scheduling plans" for the vacuum, but said they would not be made public until May.
Looking ahead to life without "Friends," the network's highest-rated series, Zucker said it's likely NBC won't find its "next great comedy" until "Friends" ends its run.
The sitcom cupboard won't be bare, he said. With "Will & Grace" and "Scrubs," NBC has the second- and third-highest rated comedies among advertiser-coveted viewers age 18 to 49, Zucker said.
