A year ago at this time, who would have guessed that Jay Leno would be leaving late night and NBC would be handing him five hours of prime time instead? Who would have predicted CBS continuing to dominate in the ratings or that ABC's sophomore series like Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies would stumble and fall so completely after being off the air all last spring? Predictors from last January were on target about there being a writers' strike; that did happen and it was definitely not a good thing.

Fortunately, I don't see a SAG strike in the future. However, here are ten things I'm betting will happen by the time the ball drops on December 31st.

1. Martin Scorsese will be the next big thing on HBO. He's producing a drama based on the book Boardwalk Empire. HBO is overdue to launch another big series in The Sopranos tradition. Boardwalk Empire seems to have all the right elements: violence, sex, gambling, and Oscar-winning, iconic director Martin Scorsese.

The story is set in New Jersey in the roaring '20s, a time of bootleggers and prohibition and jazz and gangsters. Steve Buscemi has already been cast as Nucky Johnson -- yeah, a guy named Nucky -- and if this fertile material doesn't scream out for Scorsese's cinematic flair, I don't know what does.

2. Fox will move The Simpsons. That's right. The network will shake up the animation domination Sunday by moving The Simpsons to another night. This will be done for two reasons: first, to give Seth MacFarlane the entire night; and second, to build another night of the week. Since the Fox sitcoms have been struggling -- Do Not Disturb, Til Death -- The Simpsons will be used with some new sitcom, providing a crutch.

3. Leno will turn up on Bravo. No, he won't be doing another show, but watch for NBC to take his primetime hours and spread them out over other NBCU channels like Bravo and Oxygen. Perhaps a weekend wrap-up show, like the Best of Leno, but Jay will be omnipresent. It's all part of that NBC synergy.

4. CBS will program new shows for Saturday night. Don't laugh. The Tiffany network has been using reruns on Saturday night -- like all the other nets -- but in 2009, they'll make a bold move and program original shows on that night. They'll say the move is based on economics, their belief that in these tough times people will be more inclined to stay home on Saturday night and watch TV. Backing up their belief, the network will anchor the night with one of its biggest shows, like CSI!

5. SoapNet will broadcast the Daytime Emmys. The Daytime Emmys have yet to be claimed by one of the big three, so watch for a scaled down, more intimate -- and cheaper -- variation to be shown on SoapNet. It will be a return to the Daytime Emmys' roots, with less red carpet, more daytime stars and clips, and something simpler. SoapNet will maximize the exposure, too, by broadcasting it more than once.

6. The Real Housewives will become a fictional drama series. While Bravo mines Orange County, New York and Atlanta for reality wives, NBC will fictionalize the Real Housewives brand for NBC. First, it'll be a TV movie, but if the ratings are strong, it'll be a Fall TV series.

7. Zachary Quinto will star in his own TV series. Following his success as Mr. Spock in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, Quinto will be elevated to star status and give his own show by NBC. It might be a Heroes spin-off, if there's a way to make Sylar into a sympathetic lead -- which might be possible although the recent developments don't seem to be going in that direction. Still, NBC is not about to let Zach go.

8. Oprah will drop the book club. She won't make a big announcement about it, but Oprah's Book Club will quietly be dropped. The reason is simple; three of Oprah Winfrey's selections have turned out to be frauds, including Herman Rosenblat's Angel at the Fence, James Frey's bestseller A Million Little Pieces, and Margaret Seltzer's Love and Consequences. To avoid any further embarrassment, the book club will simply cease to exist.

9. NBC will be create American telenovelas. The influence of Telemundo in the NBC Universal family will lead to the creation of a new business model. Since, it has this telenovela studio in Miami making Spanish soaps, I predict that a US variation is the next big thing. It could be the way NBC re-creates daytime drama, especially if Days of Our Lives doesn't moves up in the ratings.

10. One Nielsen hit will have a successful spin-off. It won't be Fox's House spin-off about a private detective (played by Michael Weston), that'll be the hit. It's going to be CBS's NCIS spin-off. CBS will give the new show a boost by letting NCIS act as a lead-in, a move that's possible because of the success of The Mentalist which is strong enough to anchor another night.