Fox Fall Annotated

[Mark Jeffries]

Two--count 'em--two nights of live-action scripted in the fall schedule, an unusual move for a net that was saying before the strikes that unscripted was the future (unless they owned the show, and I think you can figure out what's coming)--here we go:

MONDAY:

8-9 p.m. — “9-1-1: Lone Star"  (the view was that this show would join the franchise mothership from Disney's 20th over at ABC, but I guess that's not going to happen)
9-10 p.m.  - RESCUE HI-SURF--John Wells is not exactly the guy you would expect to do a new version of "Baywatch" (after all, his resume includes "The West Wing" and "E/R"), but here it is, set in Hawaii on the infamous north shore of Oahu. Yes, the actresses are well-endowed, but so are the men. Fox co-produced with Wells' home at Warners. BTW, this will be Fox's post-Super Bowl attraction.

TUESDAY:

8-9 p.m. — “Accused”
9-10 p.m. — MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN--Considering that this title or something like it has been used for a lot of shows, including a Fox reality shows, we'll guess it might get changed. It's produced in the Great White North (but no Canadian net yet) and based on L.R. Wright's Karl Alberg novels, it's about a former cop (Rossif Sutherland, Keifer's brother and Donald's son) who moves to a small town to get away from it all. Nice try. Kristin Kreuk of "Smallville"'s also in the cast, co-produced by Fox with Canucks Sepia Films.

WEDNESDAY:

8-9 p.m. — “The Masked Singer”
9-10 p.m. — “The Floor”

THURSDAY:

8-9 p.m. — “Hell’s Kitchen”
9-10 p.m. — “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test”

FRIDAY:

Replacing "Smackdown!", for those who like sport there's sport (college football/basketball, UFC)

SATURDAY:

And for those who don't like sport, there's more sport.

SUNDAY:

7-7:30 PM — NFL Overrun
7:30-8 PM — The OT / Cartoon reruns
8-8:30 PM — The Simpsons (is it the last season for the Disney-owned show--again?)

8:30-9 PM -- UNIVERSAL BASIC GUYS--A cartoon about the Hoagie brothers, victims of automation who are getting $3,000 a month in a basic income program and need to prove they're worth it. It's already been renewed for a season (WTF, Fox?) and is from Fox and Sony, with Fox-owned Bento Box doing the animation.
9-9:30 PM — Bob’s Burgers (see "The Simpsons")
9:30-10 PM — Krapopolis

Mid-season sees the return of "Family Guy" (see above), "Animal Control," "The Great North," "Grimsberg," "The Cleaning Lady," "Alert:  Missing Victims Unit" and these new shows:

DOC--An Americanization of an Italian series of the same title, where the great Molly Parker ("Deadwood," among other shows) plays a chief doctor at a Minneapolis hospital who has just had memory of the last eight years of her life erased and must now try to regain it.  Sony's producing with Fox, the format is owned by Fremantle, who has been trying to seriously shake off its reputation as a game show and reality house lately.

GOING DUTCH--Denis Leary is back as a loudmouthed army colonel who as punishment for things he shouldn't have said is reassigned to an obscure base in the Netherlands with a Michelin-star commissary and the only fromagerie in this man's army. And the base commander is his estranged daughter.  In-house one-camera sitcom.

EXTRACTED--What sounds like a "Survivor" ripoff, the gimmick here is that the contestants are not in charge of their destiny, but isn't that what usually happens in post?  From Sony and Fox.

THE REAL FULL MONTY--D-listers bear all for charity in this one-shot inspired by the film and musical and originating from a 2017 show in the UK that I assume Adam never saw. In-house, one of the producers is Anthony Anderson, who is also participating. As a noted television Monty used to say, big deal.

And I assume the usual game show and unscripted suspects may pop up during the year (most of them produced in Ireland). I guess Kimmel's back tomorrow to do his annual smackdown at the ABC upfront.