4 more episodes ordered! For a total of 26 for the season!

[Pavan]

ABC is bulking up on laughs, ordering extra episodes for three of its most-watched laffers.

The network has asked the producers of "My Wife and Kids," "According to Jim" and "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" to produce 26 episodes each, up from the standard 22 episode order.

In other pickup news, the WB has ordered six more episodes of Friday laffer "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." The series was given a 13-episode order for this fall.

As for the ABC shows, it's rare, though hardly unprecedented, for networks to order more than 22 episodes of a hit sitcom or drama. "Friends" often cranks out 24 episodes per year, for example, while NBC recently added three episodes to its order for rookie drama "American Dreams."

In ABC's case, executives hope that having extra episodes of two tentpole half-hours ("Wife and Kids," "8 Simple Rules") and an established sophomore laffer ("Jim") will make it easier to launch midseason comedies such as "Regular Joe." The move should also boost ABC's overall ratings by allowing the network to program more firstrun comedy programming in the spring opposite its rivals' reruns.

"My Wife and Kids," "Jim" and "8 Simple Rules" have generally dominated their time slots among young adults.

Meanwhile, UPN has ordered three additional episodes of midseason comedy "Abby," which originally had been given a six-episode order.