For a TV junkie, the upfronts are like going on a week-long bender. After months of speculation we finally get official word on what’s in and what’s out on the networks’ fall schedules. And as viewership continues to dwindle across the board (case in point: the household rating for last night's Desperate Housewives season finale was down 19 percent from a year ago), it is getting harder and harder to predict which shows will be axed and which will be given salvos.
Fox was first off the block this week, and while they traditionally have two distinct schedules to present (one for fall and one for midseason, when American Idol and 24 return), this year, in an attempt to minimize disruption, they are trying to build a logical bridge between the two halves of the season. Most noteworthy in achieving this is bringing So You Think You Can Dance into the regular season, with installments set to run on Tuesdays (8-10pm) and Wednesdays (8-9pm). Indications that this was a possibility emerged last week when Fox announced they would be holding auditions for next season a full six months earlier than usual. On one hand, it’s smart to extend the performance show/results show pattern viewers are so used to with Idol into the fall, a sort of time-period warmer for the big guns. But you have to wonder if putting together another season of the show so closely on the heels of its summer run will make it feel less special and dilute the viewing pool (not to mention the fact that Dancing with the Stars will also be running in the fall). You need only look as far as last year’s strike-mandated winter edition of Big Brother to see that what works in the summer doesn’t always work in the regular season.
On the returning dramas front, the network is keeping House on Mondays at 8pm, pairing it with sophomore Lie to Me, a combination that should have an easy audience flow. After years of being bounced around the schedule, Bones looks to have found a permanent home on Thursday at 8pm, where it’s been generating the net’s best numbers for a scripted show in some time. It will be followed by Fringe at 9pm, sure to be a tough time period for a show that struggled somewhat in its freshman season despite the benefit of a massive American Idol lead-in this spring. Perhaps the biggest surprise on Fox's entire schedule is the renewal of Dollhouse, which will stay put on Fridays at 9pm. The show was reportedly brought back after slashing its budget, but what exactly is the wisdom behind renewing a show that, no matter how loudly Joss Whedon fans yelled, brought in less than three million viewers with its recent season finale?
As for comedies, the “Animation Domination” block returns with a new addition at 8:30pm, The Cleveland Show, a Family Guy spinoff that essentially turns Fox’s Sunday schedule into Seth McFarlane Night (The Simpsons is the only show in this lineup he doesn’t produce). Musical comedy Glee, which gets a preview tomorrow night, will take up residence on Wednesday at 9pm. Over on Friday, former NFL star and current Fox NFL Sunday co-host Michael Strahan stars as (what else?) a former NFL star who returns home in Brothers (8pm). That will be followed by another season of the seemingly indestructible 'Til Death. The last time Fox tried comedy on Friday, it spelled doom for both The Bernie Mac Show and Malcolm in the Middle; there's no reason to think these shows will be any different. And The Wanda Sykes Show will debut in November in the net’s Saturday late night slot. Sykes’ biting wit combined with a Politically Incorrect-style panel format should lead to a Saturday Night Live alternative that's actually funny.
Though it hinges on the success of the fall lineup, Fox also announced its midseason schedule, with 24 returning to Mondays at 9pm, and Idol back on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (8pm), leading into two new dramas: Past Life, about detectives who solve cases by relating current problems to past-life traumas, and Human Target, a comic book adaptation about a security expert (Fringe’s Mark Valley) who puts himself in danger to save his clients’ lives. Finally, Sons of Tucson, starring Reaper’s Tyler Labine, is a comedy about three young brothers who hire a paternal stand-in when their real father is sent to prison; it’ll be sandwiched between The Simpsons and Family Guy on Sundays, a slot that has not been kind to live-action sitcoms of late (remember The Winner and The Loop? Exactly.).
Overall, Fox’s fall schedule has the stability they’re looking for, with a few wild cards thrown in for good measure. Obviously, with the other networks yet to announce their plans, it’s difficult to predict just how well Fox will fare, but as ever, if this doesn’t work, they know that Idol is just around the corner, ready to save the day.
FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: FALL 2009 (All Times ET/PT)
MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE
9:00-10:00 PM LIE TO ME
TUESDAY
8:00-10:00 PM SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Performance Show
WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Results Show
9:00-10:00 PM GLEE
THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE
FRIDAY
8:00-8:30 PM BROTHERS
8:30-9:00 PM 'TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE
SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA'S MOST WANTED
11:00 PM-Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (working title)
Midnight-12:30 AM ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES
SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM THE OT (NFL post-game)
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD
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2 comments:
With the Wanda Sykes show, does this mean that MADtv has had it's run? It looks like you were right about Terminator.
Both MADtv and Talkshow with Spike Feresten aired their series finales this past weekend. Wanda Sykes's show will air at 11pm in the fall; the 12am slot will be filled with encores of Fox's animated shows.
And here's a quote from Fox entertainment chief Kevin Reilly about Terminator: "It had a nice creative core, but ultimately we made the bet on Dollhouse for the night. We had some other shows we thought would make a better profile for the night. So that's it for Terminator."
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