Fox Fall Schedule: '24' spinoff holds for Super Bowl, 'Lethal Weapon' joins 'Empire'
Climbing out from fourth place with a largely steady showing this past season, Fox is making surprisingly few changes to its lineup when it returns in September. The network announced its new schedule Monday morning, ahead of its afternoon presentation with ad buyers, revealing a hybrid of its recent fall and midseason rundowns -- and three new shows.
For a quick insight into where the network is putting its chips, look to the Super Bowl. Fox TV Group chairmen and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman have positioned 24 spinoff Legacy after the big game with the first hour of a two-part series launch. The fall's lone newcomers are dramas Lethal Weapon and The Exorcist as well as hybrid comedy Son of Zorn. Lethal Weapon, a TV treatment of the film franchise, gets the most auspicious slot. It will air before Empire, still unmoved from its original 9 o'clock roost on Wednesdays. That move shifts Rosewood to Thursday, where it will air with exiting procedural Bones.
The Exorcist is set to bow in Friday's Sleep Hollow hour, keeping genre at 9 o'clock but pushing the show to midseason. Friday will again be home to Hell's Kitchen at 8 p.m.
Son of Zorn, half live-action and half animated, naturally heads to the Sunday comedy block -- where Fox has eagerly pushed more than cartoons for the last two years. Bob's Burgers, The Simpsons, Family Guy and Last Man on Earth are staying put on the night.
Most returning shows are staying put. Monday will again partner Gotham and Lucifer, while New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine are staying put on Tuesday -- now starting the night, back to back, before the return of short order Ryan Murphy horror comedy Scream Queens. Fox has also slated its Rocky Horror Picture Show telepic for October.
With so many series holding for midseason, including the high-profile return of Prison Break and starry event series Shots Fired, Fox is already hyping that schedule as well -; squeezing plenty of shows into winter lineup.
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24: Legacy will open Mondays at 8 p.m., ahead of freshman drama APB, starting Feb. 6 (the day after the Super Bowl.) Tuesdays will add comedy The Mick, reality competition Kicking & Screaming and ultimately baseball drama Pitch. Shots Fired will air on Wednesdays in the spring, partnered with the second half of Empire's season, while Lee Daniels' Star will air in the Empire slot during the latter's break.
Thursdays will likely see a boost from Prison Break once Bones finally signs off, and Sleepy Hollow returns to Friday at the end of The Exorcist's run. Comedy Making History fills the slot of another Phil Lord and Chris Miller freshman, Son of Zorn, come winter.
Fox's Complete 2016-17 Fall Schedule
Monday
8 p.m. -- Gotham
9 p.m. -- Lucifer
Tuesday
8 p.m. -- New Girl
8:30 p.m. -- Brooklyn Nine-Nine
9 p.m. -- Scream Queens
Wednesday
8 p.m. -- Lethal Weapon
9 p.m. -- Empire
Thursday
8 p.m. -- Rosewood
9 p.m. -- Bones
Friday
8 p.m. -- Hell's Kitchen
9 p.m. -- The Exorcist
Saturday
7:30 p.m. -- Fox College Football
Sunday
7 p.m. -- NFL on Fox
7:30 p.m. -- Bob's Burgers
8 p.m. -- The Simpsons
8:30 p.m. -- Son of Zorn
9 p.m. -- Family Guy
9:30 p.m. -- Last Man on Earth
Fox's Complete 2016-17 Midseason Schedule
Monday
8 p.m. -- 24: Legacy / Gotham (spring)
9 p.m. -- APB / Lucifer (spring)
Tuesday
8 p.m. -- New Girl / Brooklyn Nine-Nine (spring)
8:30 p.m. -- The Mick
9 p.m. -- Kicking and Screaming / The Pitch (spring)
Wednesday
8 p.m. -- Lethal Weapon / Shots Fired (spring)
9 p.m. -- Star / Empire (spring)
Thursday
8 p.m. -- Rosewood
9 p.m. -- Prison Break
Friday
8 p.m. -- Materchef Junior
9 p.m. -- Sleepy Hollow
Saturday
7:30 p.m. -- Fox Sports Saturday
Sunday
7 p.m. -- animation encores
7:30 p.m. -- Bob's Burgers
8 p.m. -- The Simpsons
8:30 p.m. -- Making History
9 p.m. -- Family Guy
9:30 p.m. -- Last Man on Earth
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