The WB has picked up three of its veteran comedies for next season, leaving ever less room for pilots hoping to make it onto the schedule.

"Reba," "Grounded for Life" and "What I Like About You" will all return for 2004-05, the Hollywood trade papers report. None of the pickups comes as a surprise -- "Reba" is the network's most-watched comedy, and the others have both done well among The WB's core audience of teenagers and young adults.

"Grounded," which moved from FOX to The WB near the end of last season, averages about 3 million viewers a week, making it the Frog's No. 3 comedy behind "Reba" (4 million viewers) and the on-the-bubble "Steve Harvey's Big Time" (3.3 million). The Amanda Bynes vehicle "What I Like About You" draws about 2.6 million viewers and has improved significantly since moving from Thursday to Friday night in December.

With drama pilots "Jack & Bobby" and "The Mountain" already getting series orders, The WB has locked down all but 2 1/2 hours of its weekly schedule for the fall. That's not much space for pilots -- or current shows not yet picked up -- to squeeze into.

The Fran Drescher pilot "Shacking Up" and the Mark Burnett-produced "Commando Nanny" are said to be contenders for a Friday-night berth with the three returning comedies. The network has yet to make a call on "Big Time," "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" or "Like Family." "Run of the House," "All About the Andersons" and midseason entry "The Help" probably won't be back.