FOX has unveiled a set of schedules that will shift throughout the season–and even into Summer 2014. Let’s take a look.
FALL
MONDAY
8PM: Bones/Almost Human
9PM: Sleepy Hollow
FOX didn’t want to launch back-to-back new dramas in the fall, so Bones will set up Sleepy Hollow‘s debut until an unspecified (post-baseball) date in late fall, after which Bones moves to Fridays and Almost Human takes over the 8PM slot. Bones did a reasonable job as the lead-in to The Following this season, and should be able to do the same job for the more supernatural Sleepy Hollow. If Sleepy wakes up, it seems to be compatible with sci-fi procedural Almost Human.
TUESDAY
8PM: Dads
8:30PM: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
9PM: New Girl
9:30PM: The Mindy Project
Starting a night with 2 new sitcoms is always a risk, but Dads comes from Seth McFarlane and Brooklyn Nine-Nine stars Andy Samberg, so they’re both partly pre-sold. In a perfect world for FOX, the more male-skewing 8PM pair will broaden the audience for the 9PM rom-coms, but the latter two will have their work cut out for them in the fall, when they’ll be facing The Voice head-on.
WEDNESDAY
8PM: The X Factor
Considering the ratings for American Idol this season, X Factor is looking better and better.
THURSDAY
8PM: The X Factor
9PM: Glee/Rake
Greg Kinnear’s deal on Rake is reportedly for a limited number of episodes, like Kevin Bacon’s on The Following. But rather than wait for midseason to launch Rake, FOX will bring it on the air in late fall and end the show in mid-spring. The Glee and Rake audiences don’t seem to match, but X Factor has broad enough appeal that it could bring in viewers for both.
FRIDAY
8PM: Junior Masterchef/Bones
9PM: Sleepy Hollow reruns/Raising Hope
9:30PM: Sleepy Hollow reruns/Enlisted
Effectively, FOX is waiting to launch its Friday until late fall, with a holding pattern of Junior Masterchef and double-pumped Sleepy Hollow episodes airing until post-baseball. Expectations can’t be high for the night even once the real line-up has begun, considering that Bones and Raising Hope are both on the decline. It doesn’t exactly set up well for Enlisted, but Friday audiences, while small, tend to be loyal, so there may be some modest lead-in value there.
SUNDAY
7PM: NFL Overrun/Post-Game
8PM: The Simpsons
8:30PM: Bob’s Burgers
9PM: Family Guy
9:30PM: American Dad
No reason to make any changes.
MIDSEASON
MONDAY
8PM: Almost Human
9PM: The Following
Almost Human, like Bones this past season, should serve as a lighter procedural apertif before the gore of The Following.
TUESDAY: no changes
WEDNESDAY
8PM: American Idol
It’s still a key part of the FOX schedule, but expect lots of changes for next season.
THURSDAY
8PM: American Idol
9PM: Rake/Glee
The reverse of fall, as Rake will finish its run in late spring, then Glee returns, late enough that its season finale won’t air until after the official network schedule ends in May, just as Revolution is doing this season. It’s another demonstration that the old rules are declining in importance for the new network universe.
FRIDAY
8PM: Bones
9PM: Raising Hope
9:30PM: Enlisted
SUNDAY: 7PM TBD
No announcement about what will replace The Cleveland Show in the spring 7PM slot.
Note: drama GANG RELATED and comedies SURVIVING JACK, US AND THEM and the animated MURDER POLICE haven’t yet been slotted and will presumably be plugged in as needed. Also TBD is a 12-hour (10-episode) miniseries called WAYWARD PINES, starring Matt Dillon and with M. Night Shyamalan as one of its producers (and presumably directors). And coming in May… the return of 24! As a 12-hour limited series (each episode will take us through 1 hour, but the show will skip hours), which like Glee will continue its run past May into the summer.
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