Fox unveiled its Fall 2020 schedule which is adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on animated series, reality TV, sports & acquired content.
It should be noted that no live-action series’ are returning to Fox in the fall but this does not mean your favorites are dead. Word is strong that The Resident, Prodigal Son & Last Man Standing are all looking good to return midseason, as long as deals go smoothly with the producing studios. The mean reason no live-action shows are set for fall is that it’s still unclear when it will be safe to go back to work for Hollywood production amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Animated series (The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, Bless the Harts), which have been able to remain in production during the pandemic, will be returning in the fall and will maintain their signature Sunday night positions. Midseason shows which were set to premiere during this season will now debut in the fall since they have been completed for quite a while. These include Tate Taylor’s Filthy Rich, starring Kim Cattrall, and the AI-themed NeXt, headlined by John Slattery. The network had been eying late spring/early summer debuts for the new midseason dramas when the coronavirus outbreak escalated, shutting down all filming by mid-March. This release pattern allows Fox to have some live-action content since other returning and new live-action offerings are on hold.
Another interesting live-action choice is the live-action acquisition of the Bad Boys spinoff, L.A.’s Finest, the Spectrum Originals series starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba. Fox will air the first season this fall, which already aired on Spectrum. Spectrum Originals’ business model involves a nine-month U.S. only exclusive window, after which the platform continues to carry a series on a non-exclusive VOD basis while the producing studio can take it anywhere else. Sony TV executives had been speaking to Fox about taking a broadcast window on the first season before the start of the pandemic, likely as a potential summer original. The Hollywood shutdown reshaped the conversation, sending the series to fall. Quite the interesting road for the show which began as a pilot on NBC in 2018 before shifting over to Spectrum as its first original series.
Wrestling, NFL, and reality TV are also on deck but the one reality program in question is, oddly enough, their highest-rated offering. The Masked Singer is tentatively going to debut in the fall for its fourth season but it hasn’t been shot yet. Live-studio audience series’ are kind of in flux right now and while it’s still in the cards to shoot for the fall for the fourth season, Fox is also eyeing other options. As for midseason 2021, the network will be stacked with the potential aforementioned returning favorites as well as 9-1-1 and spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star, which has been renewed for next season, alongside new straight-to-series comedy series Call Me Kat, starring Mayim Bialik and executive-produced by Bialik and Jim Parsons; and new animated comedies The Great North and Housebroken. Fox is also saying their six pilots that were planned for fall, are also still in contention for midseason whenever they can get the pilots shot.
Check out the full Fox fall schedule below:
FOX FALL 2020 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE)
MONDAY
8-9 PM — L.A.’s Finest (network television debut)
9-10 PM — NEXT
TUESDAY
8-9 PM –Cosmos: Possible Worlds (network television debut)
9-10 PM — FILTHY RICH
WEDNESDAY
8-9 PM — The Masked Singer
9-10 PM — Masterchef Junior
THURSDAY
7:30-8 PM ET/ — Fox NFL Thursday Presented By Verizon
4:30-5 PM PT
8-8:19 PM ET/ — GMC Kickoff Show
5-5:19 PM PT
8:20 PM-CC ET/ — Thursday Night Football Presented By Bud Light Platinum
5:20 PM-CC PT
FRIDAY
8-10 PM — WWE’S Friday Night Smackdown
SATURDAY
7-10:30 PM — FOX Sports Saturday
SUNDAY
7-7:30 PM — NFL On Fox
7:30-8 PM — The OT / Fox Encores
8-8:30 PM — The Simpsons
8:30-9 PM — Bless The Harts
9-9:30 PM — Bob’s Burgers
9:30-10 PM — Family Guy
