Upfronts: guessing FOX's fall schedule

Now that we're well into May, it's time to figure out as a TV fan, what we can expect from the networks in a few months when the 2011-2012 season starts.  Over the last few weeks, networks have started to announce whether they're renewing or canceling the shows currently in their possession.  Every day this week, I'll look at the possibilities of those shows on the bubble and try to forecast the network's fall schedule.  Going in alphabetical order, up next is FOX.


FOX's 2010-2011 in review:
After several seasons of established reign, 24 ended its run last year.  The longest established fictional drama on the network, 24 left House as the elder statesman.  House rewarded the network with slumping ratings.  It seems like a show that on its last legs, but its been renewed for another season, and one that could end up being its swan song.

Meanwhile, Glee's second season garnered fairly strong ratings and as a pop culture phenomenon, it continues to be a force to be reckon with.  With a steady diet of special guest stars and catalog of pop song renditions, Glee remains a water cooler show.  Whether that continues with its third season relies on the storylines and overall plots that Ryan Murphy concocts.

So it fell to a number of freshman series to help out some aging ones in garnering viewers for the network.  Unfortunately for FOX, most of these series failed.  Lone Star, with its critically praised pilot about a Texas playboy oilman leading a double life, was cancelled after two episodes.  Running Wilde, with its star leads in Will Arnett and Keri Russell, was cancelled after only eight episodes aired and the rest being broadcast on sister network FX.  Its spring replacements, Traffic Light and Breaking In, failed to capture much interest and while only Traffic Light has been axed, Breaking In doesn't have much chance in this world to see a second season.  And The Chicago Code, from The Shield's acclaimed Shawn Ryan, had his second series in less than a year canned despite some initial buzz.

Despite these failures, shows like Bob's Burgers and especially Raising Hope have continue to build interest and will be given another chance to grow.  So with two successes out of the seven new series, FOX will continue to rely on its established shows to challenge CBS.

Established shows that will be back:
Besides the aforementioned shows like House and Glee that will return, FOX continues to put a lot of its money in the success of its Sunday night animation block.  Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show, and obviously The Simpsons have been a huge part of FOX's comedy lineup.  Now seemingly in the hands of Seth MacFarlane, the "animation domination" has its work cut out for it as critical and popular acclaim for the block has faded in each successive year.  While The Simpsons seems to be a show that will live forever, the truth is that its quality in its twenty-second season is nowhere near its peak in the mid to late 90s.  The same can be said for Family Guy, now finishing up its ninth season despite its three year cancellation.  But as long as those shows are garnering any buzz, FOX will probably keep them around.

Earlier this week, FOX cancelled several of its dramas, including Lie to Me and Human Target.  This leaves the network in the hands of Bones and Fringe as much as it does with House and Glee.  Bones, having already hit syndication, remains a consistent success and will breed a spin-off in the fall.  Meanwhile, Fringe overcame some initial deflated expectations and has established itself on Friday nights.

Of course, FOX's biggest success every year is when American Idol returns after the new year.  Even with people saying that American Idol's quality has faded in the absence of Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, it doesn't show many signs of falling from its perch as one of the most watched shows of the television season.  Again, like the animated shows on Sundays, if American Idol continues to do anywhere close to the business it has in the past, it'll remain a viable product.

New series that might make their way onto your TV:
As a result of my feelings and thoughts, I have roughly four and a half hours of broadcasting that FOX has to fill.  Earlier this week, FOX made the decision of which pilots its looking to bring onto the fall schedule.  Here is the list of shows that you should watch out for:

Alcatraz- from acclaimed producer J.J. Abrams, this is a psychological thriller set around the history of the infamous San Francisco prison; years after their disappearance, twenty wardens and prisoners of Alcatraz's history will return; sounds like The 4400

The Finder- a spinoff of Bones, The Finder was given a backdoor pilot in the final weeks of Bones' current season; starring Geoff Stults, Michael Clark Duncan and Saffron Burrows, it should take Bones' spot in the fall lineup as star Emily Deschanel will be on maternity leave

The New Girl- speaking of the Deschanel sisters, FOX is also invested itself in Zooey; this offbeat sorta rom-com sees her star as a young, quirky teacher who moves in with three equally eccentric guys; sounds like Zooey won't be acting too much

Terra Nova- probably the most anticipated new series on FOX and one of the most across all networks, Steven Spielberg's prehistoric epic will be given every chance to succeed; one of the things that will be interesting to watch out for is lead actor Jason O'Mara's track record (two of his other shows, In Justice and Life on Mars, didn't last long)

The X Factor- he's back; after a year missing from American Idol, Simon Cowell returns with an expanded version of AI; think of it as a musical talent show, complete with bands instead of just solo acts, and divided into age groups to allow similar competition; Paula Abdul also returns to FOX with this

FOX also picked up orders on animated shows Napoleon Dynamite and Allen Gregory.  I don't think they will air until the winter, but don't put it past FOX to make another night full of animated comedies now that seven in series production.  FOX also picked up I Hate My Teenage Daughter, a Mean Girls take about the adulthood of those mischievous high school princesses.

My guess at FOX's fall schedule (pure speculation):
Sunday
8:00-8:30 - The Simpsons
8:30-9:00 - The Cleveland Show
9:00-9:30 - Family Guy
9:30-10:00 - American Dad
*Note: Bob's Burgers was renewed and will probably serve as a half season replacement for American Dad or The Cleveland Show*

Monday
8:00-9:00 - House
9:00-10:00 - The X Factor (N)

Tuesday
8:00-9:00 - Glee
9:00-9:30 - Raising Hope
9:30-10:00 - The New Girl (N)

Wednesday
8:00-9:00 - Alcatraz (N)
9:00-10:00 – Terra Nova (N)

Thursday
8:00-9:00 - Hell's Kitchen
9:00-10:00 - The Finder (N)
*Note: Bones was renewed and will probably return in the winter after star Emily Deschanel's maternity leave ends*

Friday
8:00-9:00 - Kitchen Nightmares
9:00-10:00 - Fringe