Fox Announces Mid-Season Lineup
Posted on November 6, 2008
Fox has announced its midseason schedule and Joss Whedon fans aren't going to be happy. Dollhouse was supposed to premiere on Mondays with 24. It's been moved to low-ratings Fridays, where it will be paired with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Friday is not a place you put shows you want to do really well. The premiere date is Friday, February 13, 2009, which is just about as stupid as it gets. The producers noted that was the day that Angel was canceled in 2004.
-- "Idol" will premiere Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. and will include the usual two-hour, two-part rollout. "Idol" and "Fringe" will still partner on Tuesdays as planned.Well, it's good that there won't be as many commercials during Dollhouse. As for Fringe, the show is totally weird and we quite enjoy it.-- Wednesday was originally going to have "House" leading into the "American Idol" results show. Now "Idol" has been shifted to 8 p.m. and will instead give TV's biggest lead-in to new drama "Lie to Me," which stars Tim Roth as a "human lie detector." Fox is very excited about this show, though it will likely to draw comparisons to CBS' freshman breakout title "The Mentalist."
-- Instead of reality block of "Hell's Kitchen" and "Secret Millionaire" on Thursdays, Fox will partner "Hell's" with a lead-in from "Bones." This is a promotion for the crime drama, which has performed strong this season. Fox had originally intended to shift "Bones" to Fridays in midseason. "Millionaire" will air in December.
-- "Hole in the Wall," despite many assuming the game show was a goner, is returning midseason to help launch Fox's Sunday animated block in the 7 p.m. hour.
Absent from the current schedule: Live-action comedy or new reality shows. No dates yet for Fox's new animated shows such "The Cleveland Show" either.
"Fringe" and "Dollhouse" are part of Fox's Remote-Free TV plan, where advertisers pay a premium to sponsor a show in exchange for Fox running about half as many ads per hour. In the case of "Fringe," the move has been successful, say media buyers who have studied the results. Fox says that even though "Dollhouse" changed time periods to Fridays, it will still be Remote-Free TV.