NEW DEBUT DATE FOR RIVERS

The Fox Broadcasting Co. has scheduled a new premiere date for “The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers.” It will debut at 11 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9, airing on Channel 11 here and the 78 or so other affiliates in the new network.

Earlier, the show had been set to start Oct. 1 and then later, Oct. 6.

A Fox spokesman said the Thursday start date will allow Rivers a little more practice before the show settles into a regular weeknight run and also takes advantage of the higher viewing levels later in the week.

Fox also announced that “Duet,” a half-hour romantic comedy series about “the trials and tribulations of an urban couple,” will debut next March in the Saturday night primetime schedule. “Duet” is from Gary David Goldberg’s UBU Productions (“Family Ties”). No casting has been set.

Fox also plans a Sunday night schedule starting in the spring and it will include “Jump Street Chapel,” an action-adventure hour from Stephen J. Cannell (“The A-Team.”). A third series, based on the movie “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” has not yet been placed.