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UPFRONTS 2011: What FOX Will Do

Time for the FOX prediction! Last week, I suggested what FOX should do. Now I will make my official prediction. Of course, as I mentioned with NBC yesterday, I fully expect to be wrong in several areas. It's just a guessing game. So here we go.

MONDAY
8:00 House
9:00 WEEKENDS AT BELLEVUE
As I mentioned in my suggestion for FOX, they might be wise to put the younger Bones at 8pm but with House officially renewed, chances are it will be the medical drama for a presumed final season. I think FOX will try to launch a new medical drama after it with the promising Weekends at Bellevue

TUESDAY
8:00 Glee
9:00 THE NEW GIRL
9:30 Raising Hope 
Glee will stay put of course in a slot that it experienced lots of success in this year. I think FOX will try to launch a new show right after Glee and slide Raising Hope back to 9:30 as they should. Hope has a loyal but small audience and a new show would have more upside airing out of Glee. I think that show will be The New Girl, which has been getting lots of good buzz.

WEDNESDAY
8:00 X-FACTOR
(9:30 November) I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER
This was one of those scheduling moves where the suggestion I made last week seemed reasonable enough to make it a prediction. X-Factor is most likely going to get the same slots American Idol has in the spring. So if the show cuts to an hour and a half after awhile like Idol, why not launch a new comedy out of it. And it would make sense to launch a multicamera comedy that doesn't quite fit elsewhere.
 

THURSDAY
8:00 X-FACTOR
9:00 Bones/THE FINDER
Rumor has it that Bones may share a timeslot with spinoff The Finder and that is the way I think FOX will go. My suggestion had Terra Nova here but there are rumors that it still won't be ready so this might be what they decide to do. The question is - will they air Bones first and then put it on hiatus or The Finder first and give Bones a late launch with co-star Emily Deschanel's pregnancy to consider.


FRIDAY
8:00 Hell's Kitchen
9:00 Fringe
I wavered on whether FOX will start Fringe in the fall or give it an uninterrupted midseason run. But for now I'm leaning towards it coming back in the fall in the same timeslot with the long-running Hell's Kitchen as a lead-in.


SATURDAY
8:00 Cops
9:00 America's Most Wanted
Despite some rumors that this might be shaken up, I don't think it will be - at least not in the fall as they have other things to focus on. I think we see this long-standing lineup on Saturdays continue.


SUNDAY
7:00 NFL Overrun/The OT/Animation Repeats/American Dad!
8:00 The Simpsons
8:30 Bob's Burgers
9:00 Family Guy
9:30 The Cleveland Show
FOX has lots of things they can do with their five renewed cartoons and two more waiting in the wings. But I think in the fall, we will see the returning shows with the new shows getting a chance at some point during the season.


MIDSEASON: The Chicago Code, American Idol, Breaking In, Kitchen Nightmares, So You Think You Can Dance, Million Dollar Money Drop, ALLEN GREGORY, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, FAMILY ALBUM, EXIT STRATEGY, TERRA NOVA
I think FOX will load up on midseason orders just in case X-Factor bombs (unlikely) or Terra Nova doesn't ever make it on the air (more likely). American Idol will certainly continue on Wednesday/Thursday. The Chicago Code could fill in for a failed drama, take over for a show on a break, or get dumped on Fridays/Saturdays but I think it will come back. Breaking In could air out of Idol again or in a Tuesday block during a Glee hiatus. Kitchen Nightmares can come back to Friday and So You Think You Can Dance can return in the summer again. Million Dollar Money Drop can fill in during December like it did this past season. As for the new shows, the animated ones can air during the block in some form. Family Album can be on Tuesday with Glee co-star Mike O'Malley, Exit Strategy can go wherever its needed and could get a big promotional boost, and we'll see about Terra Nova.


CANCELLED: Lie to Me, Traffic Light, Human Target, Running Wilde, The Good Guys, Lone Star
I think FOX will cancel all these shows including the bubble shows Lie to Me and Human Target as they just don't have room nor do these shows have much upside left. The others are already gone or inevitable cancellations.

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