FOX had its Upfront Presentation today and change was the big focus as FOX is trying a few new things as it heads into the 2018-19 season.
Perhaps the biggest change is, after 8 years of doing comedies on Tuesdays, the network is dropping that approach altogether for the night. Lethal Weapon is staying put on Tuesday nights but it’s shifting to 9 PM and will feature a new co-lead in the form of Seann William Scott after Clayne Crawford was let go from the show. Opening up the night will be The Gifted, the X-Men spinoff that will be going into its second season.
Speaking of Lethal Weapon and the behind the scenes drama, apparently, it was not FOX’s decision to let Crawford go. It was revealed today that Warner Bros. TV handed down the order and would not even look into a third season if Crawford was still attached. When Seann William Scott came on board, Warner Bros. TV was fully behind the change and it made season three a lock.
The network is fully getting behind multi-camera comedies and they’re putting the now revived Last Man Standing on Friday nights to lead off a night of comedy. The night has typically been a night of genre programming and cheaper reality shows but FOX is feeling confident that the audience for Last Man Standing will flock to it on Friday nights. Hell’s Kitchen remains on Friday but moving to 9 PM to make room for Fox’s new multi-camera comedy block, which consists of Last Man Standing and retirement home sitcom The Cool Kids. FOX last experiemented with a Friday night comedy block back in 2009 when Till Death & Brothers aired there.
Monday is becoming a drama crime-based procedural night for the network. The Resident is staying on Mondays but shifting to 8 PM where canceled Lucifer aired this season. The Resident will be followed by the second season breakout 9-1-1, which started off as a midseason replacement on Wednesday this season. 9-1-1 is getting a post-football launch on Sunday, September 23. I must say I called this pairing in a few of our TV rating posts and I think it will ensure that The Resident gets a significant boost in season two.
Wednesday nights are a safe bet with Empire and Star so that night isn’t being touched by the network. While not the watercooler show it once was, Empire is still a strong performer and pairing it with Star actually helped boost the latter show’s ratings.
FOX’s third new multi-camera comedy series, Rel, will join Fox’s Sunday animated block, taking the 9:30 PM slot held by the recently departed The Last Man on Earth. Additionally, Emmy-winning Bob’s Burgers has been given a higher-profile 8:30 PM slot.
Of FOX’s returning series, held for midseason are Seth MacFarlane’s sophomore The Orville as well as the final installment of Gotham. Also on tap for next season are new apocalyptic drama series The Passage, legal drama Proven Innocent as well as a live production of Rent, set for a January 27, 2019 premiere, and the second installment of the MacFarlane-produced Cosmos, Possible Worlds.
As for some of their decisions in regards to cancellations, we have some insight. Brooklyn Nine-Nine made waves when it was canceled by FOX and then picked up by NBC a mere 24 hours later. The vocal fan outcry made other platforms listen, including Hulu and TBS, but NBC ultimately stepped in to save the show. When asked if the decision was creative or financial (FOX didn’t own the show and it grew more expensive as it went on) the network said there were a variety of factors that led them to let the show go. One reason was they felt they couldn’t find a place to fit it on the schedule with their new comedies (the network is really pushing multi-camera comedies this season and Nine-Nine was a single cam show). They also factored in that the show was unowned and that after a five-season run, the licensing fee became a bone of contention. NBC owns the show so that won’t be an issue for them at all. That being said, FOX was happy it found a home at NBC and that when they canceled it, they really believed it would land elsewhere and that it did.
The other comedy cancellations came down to being the right fit and a numbers game. The Mick had a lot of in-house supporters who wanted a third season and with Last Man Standing coming back, it could’ve fit the best of its returning sitcoms but the numbers weren’t there as well. The same was said for The Last Man On Earth which had great critical praise but not the numbers to back it up.
The other two comedies on the network, Ghosted and LA To Vegas, are still in contention for second seasons but there are a few factors at play. Ghosted has 6 more episodes to actually air and the network is going to see how those perform. LA To Vegas is liked by the network but is in need of something to make waves. The series is possibly eyeing an appearance from Will Ferrell in season two if it gets picked up and the creative team is working on a pitch for season two to show the network.
#SaveLucifer trended hard on Twitter after that show was canceled after three seasons but again, it was a numbers game for the network. The show saw its ratings decline a bit in its third season and FOX ultimately decided to throw its support behind the dramas that performed best this past season. Not helping matters was that The Resident, which aired after, usually improved on Lucifer’s demo rating.
Here is a full look at FOX’s schedule for the 2018-19 season:
MONDAY
8-9 PM — The Resident
9-10 PM — 9-1-1
TUESDAY
8-9 PM — The Gifted
9-10 PM — Lethal Weapon
WEDNESDAY
8-9 PM — Empire
9-10 PM — Star
THURSDAY
7:30-8 PM ET/ — Thursday Night Football Pregame Show
4:30-5 PM PT
8 PM-CC ET/ — NFL Football
5 PM-CC PT
FRIDAY
8-8:30 PM — Last Man Standing (all-new episodes)
8:30-9 PM — The Cool Kids
9-10 PM — Hell’s Kitchen
SATURDAY
7:00-10:30 PM — Fox Sports Saturday: Fox College Football
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 — Bob’s Burgers
9-9:30 PM — Family Guy
9:30-10 PM — REL
