In advance of its upfront presentation today, Fox announced seven new shows for next season, including a revamped Tuesday lineup in the fall, with its freshmen hit show Glee front and center.
Shows not returning include Saturday night talker The Wanda Sykes Show and sitcom Brothers. It is not known at this time what will replace Wanda Sykes in the Saturday late-night slot.
Fox launches Tuesday nights with Glee, followed by two new comedies: Raising Hope and Running Wilde, the latter featuring Arrested Development's Will Arnett and Felicity's Keri Russell. Glee will move to Wednesday nights when American Idol returns to Tuesday nights in January, which will now be expanded to 90 minutes.
After CBS launched a new show after the Super Bowl this year with Undercover Boss, it's back to proven shows in the slot next year with Glee.
Monday night launches with veteran House and a new drama titled Lonestar, a drama set in Texas with the oil industry as a backdrop (sounds familiar? I already hear the first-season finale will have somebody wake up and discover somebody showering.)
Wednesdays have Lie to Me and Hell's Kitchen; Thursdays stand pat with Bones and Fringe; and Fridays are revamped with Human Target and newcomer The Good Guys.
Saturdays and Sundays remain the same.
On tap for midseason: A new crime-drama set entirely and filmed here in Chicago titled Ride-Along, which stars Shawn Ryan and Chicago native Jennifer Beals. Ride-Along is scheduled for Mondays after Lonestar concludes its run.
Another mid-season entry is animated comedy Bob's Burgers (a show -for once - that doesn't come from Seth McFarlane) and Terra Nova, a new sci-fi thriller.
Thought: Mixed feelings about this sked. First, Lonestar seems to be a Dallas ripoff, no doubt about it. Their two live-action comedies on Tuesday will continue the tradition of failure for Fox in this arena. Putting Glee in the post-Super Bowl slot is a bad idea because the male audience will not stick around for it. While Thursdays remain pat, the ongoing audience erosion for Fringe is a concern. Animation Domination on Sundays will have a new entry with Bob's Burgers which is worth checking out - and surprise! It's not produced by Seth MacFarlane.
Ride-Along looks very promising - a filmed in Chicago series, the first since Prison Break and The Beast. (Let's hope it doesn't meet the same fate as The Beast, which was canceled by A&E after six months and also due to star Patrick Swayze's illness.) Terra Nova on the other hand, sounds like Lost In Space meets Land of the Lost (but ironically, not Lost.)
And if you're looking for X Factor, forget it -it's likely to debut in the fall of 2011, at the earliest.
With Jack Bauer calling it a day and Simon Cowell leaving American Idol, this is going to be one challenging season for Fox. Good luck - they'll need it.
Did you know? The title The Good Guys was used for a 1968-70 CBS sitcom featuring Bob Denver and Herb Edelman. Here's a tip: never name your show after a failed Bob Denver sitcom - I suppose next we'll have a new crime drama called Dusty's Trail....
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