ER (TV series)
Following the broadcast of its two-hour pilot movie on September 19, 1994, "ER" premiered Thursday, September 22 at 10:00. It remained in the same Thursday time slot for its entire run. "ER" is NBC's third longest-running drama, after "Law & Order" and "", and, the longest-running American primetime medical drama of all time. On April 2, 2008, NBC announced that the series would return for its fifteenth season. The fifteenth season was originally scheduled to run for 19 episodes before retiring with a two-hour series finale to be broadcast on March 12, 2009, but NBC announced in January 2009 that it would extend the show by an additional three episodes to a full 22-episode order as part of a deal to launch a new series by John Wells titled "Police", later retitled "Southland". "ER"s final episode aired on April 2, 2009; the two-hour episode was preceded by a one-hour retrospective special. The series finale charged $425,000 per 30-second ad spot, more than three times the season's rate of $135,000. From season 4 to season 6 ER cost a record-breaking 13 million dollars per episode. TNT also paid a record price of $1 million an episode for four years of repeats of the series during that time. The cost of the first three seasons was 2 million per episode and seasons 7 to 9 cost 8 million dollars per episode.
ER (season 4)
Chulack continued to serve as the series' most prominent director and helmed a further four episodes. Thorpe directed three more episodes. Charles Haid returned to the series for the first time since the first season to helm two episodes. New director Darnell Martin was the season's only other repeat director with two episodes. Other directors making their series debut with the fourth season were executive producer John Wells, Christopher Misiano, T.R. Subramaniam, and Sarah Pia Anderson. Regular directors returning to the series for single episodes include Jonathan Kaplan, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Lesli Linka Glatter, and Thomas Schlamme. Cast member Anthony Edwards moved behind the camera to direct a further episode of the series. Editor Jacque Toberen and producer Lance Gentile each directed a single episode of the fourth season.