NBC on Monday unveiled a fall lineup heavy on the supernatural, but light on comedy.

Heroes, about a supernaturally endowed group of fighters, all with different powers, is the biggest hit among NBC's new programs this year, and the fall will bring a spinoff show and three other series involving the supernatural:

• Heroes: Origins: This show, featuring a new heroic character each week, will stretch the season for Heroes.
• Bionic Woman: A remake of the 1970s show, with Michelle Ryan in the lead role.
• Journeyman: A series about a San Francisco newspaperman who travels through time to alter people's lives.
• Chuck: a computer geek has spy secrets embedded in his brain and is forced to become a government agent.

Actor Masi Oka plays a technology geek superhero on NBC hit series Heroes. The show is back in the fall, with a spinoff.
(Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)

Among the shows on the chopping block are Crossing Jordan, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Friday Night Lights.

NBC has ordered only one new comedy, The IT Crowd, about a group of people who work in technical services at a large corporation, but only six episodes of it.

Comedies The Office and My Name Is Earl return, but with longer seasons. There will be 30 episodes of The Office and 28 of Earl.

NBC has left Thursday night, considered the most important night to draw viewers, intact, with 30 Rock and The Office in prime time, although they failed to create a win for the network this year.

Despite critical acclaim for many of its shows, NBC suffered its least-watched week in at least 20 years this spring.

"We've got the class and next season we're ready to add some mass, with new shows that build on the creative accomplishments of last season and are as broad as they are good," NBC entertainment president Kevin Reilly said Monday, after unveiling the lineup to advertisers.

It is the first of the U.S. networks to announce its coming season.

NBC announced legal drama Law & Order will be back for its 18th season and Medium, about a psychic, will return on Sunday nights starting in January. Football will fill that slot all fall.

The successful game show Deal or No Deal, hosted by Howie Mandel, will air on Monday and Wednesday nights.

The new dramas include Lipstick, based on Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell's novel, starring Lindsay Price, Brooke Shields and Kim Raver as trio of successful professional women in New York.

NBC's other new series, Life, is a drama about a detective given a second chance after spending years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

With files from the Associated Press