Upfronts 2011: Fox Builds Fall Schedule Around 'X Factor,' Slates 'Terra Nova'

Network picks up four new comedies, three dramas, one unscripted series for 2011-12 TV season

By Melissa Grego -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/16/2011 8:52:07 AM

Click here for complete coverage of the 2011 upfronts

Click here to watch preview clips and trailers for Fox's new shows

As was widely expected, Fox will build its fall primetime programming lineup around its much-hyped, new Simon Cowell-led talent competition X Factor, which is being slotted in the Weds-Thurs. time period pattern the network currently is using for American Idol, according to the 2011-12 TV season lineup the network announced Monday morning.

Fox brass say they're undeterred by NBC's strong debut of fellow singing competition show The Voice. "We feel we have the gold standard in Idol and X Factor," Peter Rice, Chairman, Entertainment, Fox Networks Group, told reporters during a conference call Monday morning. "In Simon Cowell we have the absolute star of the genre at the pinnacle of his game."

Using X Factor as a "tentpole," as Fox Broadcasting Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said in the conference call, the network also has slated two new comedies to debut this fall, along with its big-budget time-travel drama Terra Nova. The latter will air in the 8 p.m. hour on Mondays this fall, (ET/PT) leading into the time slot's current occupant House. Fox ordered four new comedies, three dramas and one unscripted series for the new season.

Despite a delay of Terra Nova's planned preview this spring, Rice and Reilly confirmed the show is absolutely a go for a fall debut. Alcatraz, a crime thriller from J.J. Abrams and Elizabeth Sarnoff, is slated to wait in the wings for a Monday time slot come midseason, when House will go back to 8 p.m. and Alcatraz is expected to air Mondays at 9. Terra Nova will continue to get a huge promotional push and the network is aiming to capture the family audience at 8 p.m. With the broad, multigenerational storytelling and epic feel, execs say it will be like nothing else on TV.

Fox executives touted the network's ratings dominance in their call with reporters ahead of their presentation to advertisers Monday afternoon in New York at The New Beacon Theatre. They pointed out that Fox is poised to keep the adults 18-49 ratings crown for the seventh consecutive season this year even without counting the Super Bowl.

With a schedule that builds on the strength of its franchises, including a rejuvenated Idol and a strategy to build out its comedy stable, the networks' execs predicted Fox will continue to dominate the ratings race next season. "We think we have a very strong schedule for next year," Rice said.

The execs said they hope and expect Idol's judges panel to return intact, with Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler in multi-year contracts. Jennifer Lopez had a one-year deal but the "hope and expectation" is she'll return, Rice said.

The continued revitalization of the comedy genre, however, is key to Fox's continued growth, as it is for all networks, Reilly said. "The comedy genre has gotten rather anemic," Reilly said, adding that it used to be the core of most network schedules and calling the genre "fragile."

"Most successful comedy in history of television usually started at the bottom and has been vulnerable," he said. "We're trying to methodically work it in."

"It would be a very healthy thing for television to get that genre going again," Reilly said. "I actually think we will this season."

Fox's strategy for boosting its comedy business this season includes the launches this fall of New Girl (working title), starring Zooey Deschanel on Tuesdays this fall at 9 p.m. following Glee; and I Hate My Teenage Daughter, starring Jaime Pressly and Katie Finneran as moms of teenagers who are growing into the type of "mean girls" who terrorized them in high school. Reilly called it a "coup" to land Deschanel for TV and described Teenage Daughter, slated for Wednesdays at 9:30 after X Factor's performance show, as a relatable buddy comedy with "laughs and a lot of heart" and the "Fox attitude."

Fox also has slated a midseason test run of a four-comedy block and will set that lineup after they see how things "shake out" in development this summer and on the air this fall, Reilly said.

The rest of the fall schedule remains pretty stable. Allen Gregory, is the new animated comedy joining the Sunday animation lineup this fall. Created by and featuring the voice of Jonah Hill, the show is the story of an extremely pretentious 7-year-old about to leave homeschooling to attend elementary school with children his own age. In addition to his success as an actor, Hill is also an ambitious writer and producer, Reilly says, and told Fox he grew up on Fox's animation. An animated Napoleon Dynamite steps into the block in midseason.

Bones will follow X Factor's results show on Thursdays and its spin-off The Finder will slot in come midseason while Bones star Emily Deschanel is on maternity leave. Fox is sticking with Kitchen Nightmares and Fringe on Fridays and will cycle Saturday's longrunning America's Most Wanted down to quarterly, two-hour specials this season.

Reilly called AMW figurehead John Walsh a "very important guy to the network for a long time," adding, "it's not a secret to John, we have not made money on the show in quite awhile." Reilly said the show is a public service and said they wanted to keep it alive and that Walsh is talking to News Corp. about where the series could continue.

In midseason, American Idol will return for its eleventh round, with a special event following the NFC Championship game Sunday, Jan. 22. Fox will air a 25^th network anniversary special Sunday, April 1. And Touch, a drama starring 24's Kiefer Sutherland, is scheduled to go into production in June.

Fox's complete fall and midseason schedules follow.

FOX FALL 2011 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM    Terra Nova (new)       
9:00-10:00 PM   House

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM    Glee
9:00-9:30 PM    New Girl (wt) (new)
9:30-10:00 PM   Raising Hope

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:30 PM    The X Factor Performance Show (new)    
9:30-10:00 PM   I Hate My Teenage Daughter (wt) (new)          

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM    The X Factor Results Show (new)
9:00-10:00 PM   Bones

FRIDAY

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

SATURDAY

8:00-8:30 PM    Cops
8:30-9:00 PM    Cops
9:00-10:00 PM   Encores / America's Most Wanted (specials)
 
SUNDAY

7:00-7:30 PM    The OT (NFL post-game)
7:30-8:00 PM    The Cleveland Show

8:00-8:30 PM    The Simpsons
8:30-9:00 PM    Allen Gregory (new)
9:00-9:30 PM    Family Guy
9:30-10:00 PM   American Dad


FOX MIDSEASON 2012 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM    House
9:00-10:00 PM   Alcatraz (new)         
 
TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM    Glee
9:00-9:30 PM    New Girl (wt) (new)
9:30-10:00 PM   Raising Hope

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:30 PM    American Idol Performance Show
9:30-10:00 PM   I Hate My Teenage Daughter (wt) (new)

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM    American Idol Results Show
9:00-10:00 PM   The Finder (new) / Bones (spring)

FRIDAY

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

SATURDAY

8:00-8:30 PM    Cops
8:30-9:00 PM    Cops  
9:00-10:00 PM   Encores / America's Most Wanted (specials)

SUNDAY

7:00-7:30 PM    Animation Domination (encores)
7:30-8:00 PM    The Cleveland Show
8:00-8:30 PM    The Simpsons
8:30-9:00 PM    Napoleon Dynamite (new)
9:00-9:30 PM    Family Guy
9:30-10:00 PM   Bob's Burgers