Image Credit: Adam Rose/Fox
Glee is on the move.
Fox just announced its fall schedule changes, including shifting Glee to Thursdays and pairing Mindy Kaling’s new comedy with Zooey Deschanel’s New Girl.
Fox’s lineup has freshman medical drama The Mob Doctor taking over the House slot on Mondays. Raising Hope will kick off a two-hour comedy block on Tuesdays, followed by new comedy Ben and Kate, as well as New Girl and The Mindy Project. Wednesday will have music competition shows all season, with a two-hour The X Factor in the fall and a two-hour American Idol in midseason. Thursday will have Factor/Idol results show, followed by Glee. Fridays will have Touch — yup, going to the Friday night gulag after only 13 episodes — paired with the final season of Fringe.
To see how this all relates to NBC, read the schedule explanations from Sunday.
In a morning press conference with reporters, the Fox execs wouldn’t confirm news reports that Britney Spears and Demi Lovato will join The X Factor. (It’s likely they’ll save that big one for the afternoon presentation in New York). Instead, they spent time explaining why Glee is on a new night and why it’s time to launch a comedy block on Tuesdays. “Four comedies on Tuesday is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time,” said Entertainment President Kevin Reilly. “These are the kind of shows we’ve wanted to do for a long time and we’ve been building momentum on Tuesdays. We finally have shots that have exactly the right tone we are looking for.
“I think we’ve seen before that Glee is very compatible [with music shows],” he continued. “This is just a way to propel it through the next couple of seasons. For us it’s a win win. If we didn’t have shows on Tuesday, we wouldn’t be able to do it.”
As for moving Touch to Fridays, Reilly said the drama, like Fringe, can benefit from DVR playbacks. “Friday is a curious time,” he admitted. “Live plus same day ratings may look a little puny, but over the next 7 days, there is a real audience there. We have been winning Fridays with quality shows. We are investing in Fridays.”
Reilly teased that he may pick up one or two more shows later for midseason. He also reflected on having to make tough cancellation decisions earlier in the year — like having to drop Terra Nova. “It’s hard because they weren’t black and white calls. Those are difficult decisions. I think, is there an upside left? Is there something working there? Some of those decisions like Terra Nova had to be made before we set the schedule. That was more difficult because you like to see everything you got. But I feel really good about those dedisions right now.”
Here’s how fall is shaping up so far (ABC will announce its schedule Tuesday, Followed by CBS on Wednesday and CW on Thursday): READ FULL STORY »
