FOX announced a very reasonable schedule–which is to say their choices were mostly in agreement with our recommendations.
A quick look at each night:
MONDAY: This was exactly the night we projected, with BONES providing a stable base for the launch of THE MOB DOCTOR, a medical/crime show aimed at the HOUSE audience.
TUESDAY: We were close, the only change being that with RAISING HOPE a moderate success at best, we would have liked BEN & KATE to be strong enough to lead off its hour. (If the new show demonstrates any early promise, look for these two to switch slots.) We’re not sure about THE MINDY PROJECT as a title–sounds like a cable reality show–but as a series, it fits perfectly with NEW GIRL.
WEDNESDAY: The return of X FACTOR was a no-brainer.
THURSDAY: As had been rumored, the Kevin Bacon thriller THE FOLLOWING won’t be available until midseason, with a short 15-episode order. That left an open space, and GLEE could use a boost from the solid lead-in X FACTOR will give it, so slotting it here made sense (although Glee still will have to cope with interruptions and/or repeats).
FRIDAY: Here’s the one oddity of the network’s schedule. Why renew such a high-profile (not to mention expensive) show as TOUCH, only to throw it into a nearly invisible slot at 8PM Friday? It bespeaks a weird ambivalence about the show., and we still think the network would have been better off with the cheaper, probably not much lower-rated Kitchen Nightmares in this spot. Keeping FRINGE where it’s been for its final 13 episodes was perfectly logical.
SATURDAY: Sports should do fine here.
SUNDAY: No changes, and no need for any. Next season, as THE SIMPSONS nears its end, FOX will have to figure out how to follow it, and since animation operates on a very long timeline, heavy development in that arena should be starting. But that’s an issue for next year’s schedule.
The network also announced unsurprising plans for midseason: AMERICAN IDOL to take X Factor‘s place again, THE GOODWIN GAMES to take a spot in the Tuesday sitcom schedule, The Following to inherit Mob Doctor‘s Monday night slot, and HELL’S KITCHEN to take over Friday 9PM when Fringe is done. .
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