Upfronts 2013: Fox Announces Nine New Shows and Return of '24'

'New Girl' and new comedy get post-Super Bowl slot

By Dade Hayes -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/13/2013 8:00:00 AM

Complete Coverage: Upfronts 2013
Upfronts 2013: Fox Pilot Trailers

Updated 11:03 a.m. ET

As it wraps a mixed 2012-13, Fox is opening the wallet for next season, spending more than it ever has on originals and welcoming five new comedies, four new dramas and two significant event series.

The net's 2013-14 schedule, announced Monday, also includes a revival of its legacy hit 24 as a compressed, 12-hour "event series" featuring Kiefer Sutherland returning as Jack Bauer. Another event series from M. Night Shyamalan called Wayward Pines stars Matt Dillon as a Secret Service agent unraveling a vexing mystery in an Idaho town.

Kevin Reilly, Fox Broadcasting's entertainment chairman, noted the net "will play with order patterns," citing the 15-episode order for The Following, which broke out to become 2012-13 most-watched new show. "There's no magic number. Shows will premiere and be staggered throughout the year. They will premiere in the spring and arc into the summer. They will premiere in the summer and continue into the fall."

Given consumer viewing trends across platforms, Fox plans on continuing to push experimentation. "We're really going to try to break out of the confines of the traditional broadcast season," Reilly said. "Our goal as a network is virtually year-round original programming and we're going to get pretty close to that this year."

Reilly defended broadcast's turf, noting that The Following has reached 17 million viewers a week when all platforms and airings are counted. He said that was better than all but one series on all of basic cable, AMC's The Walking Dead.

"We live by a different standard," Reilly said. "We cancel shows that most cable networks would declare a success and would live with."

In 24, Sutherland is set to return as Jack Bauer. No plot details were divulged, but Howard Gordon will be back as executive producer. The series will unfold chronologically, as with the initial run from 2001 to 2010, but skipping certain hours depending on events and plot developments.

"The spine of the 24 episodes was always about 12 hours, with twists and connective tissue in between," Reilly said. Fox isn't ruling out the possibility of a regular recurrence of 24 beyond the upcoming revival, and Reilly noted the net's event series strategy is designed to yield some renewable franchises.

Mondays, fortified with breakout The Following this season, will add the J.J. Abrams-produced futuristic police drama Almost Human as well as period mystery Sleepy Hollow, from Star Trek-Transformers screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

Tuesdays are comedy-focused, continuing last season's four-half-hour strategy. Freshmen Dads, from Seth MacFarlane and his Ted collaborators, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a single-camera show starring Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher, will lead into returning vets New Girl and The Mindy Project.

On Thursdays, Greg Kinnear heads the cast of Rake, a character-driven drama based on an award-winning Australian series. Its exec producers include Rescue Me's Peter Tolan and Spider-Man's Sam Raimi.

Fridays will see pint-size chefs compete in new reality series with the working title Junior MasterChef as well as Enlisted, an Army-themed single-camera comedy created by Kevin Biegel (Cougar Town, Scrubs).

Wednesdays and Sundays remain intact as showcases for X Factor/American Idol and a signature animated block, respectively. Reilly declined to comment on reports that Idol, whose ratings have dropped by double digits, was set to clear the decks and replace all of its judges for next season. He did say the show will return to three judges, not the four it has featured in recent seasons, adding that the net and showrunners would go to work Friday morning, following its season finale, to retool its format. Reilly blamed the ratings slump on format issues more than any other factor.

Announced series yet to be scheduled for midseason include Gang Related, Surviving Jack, Us & Them and Murder Police.

While there are a few question marks for Fox heading into the season, it has the ultimate event tentpole to build on in the form of Super Bowl XLVIII, the first cold-weather, outdoor Super Bowl being played at the New York-area MetLife Stadium. Fox said New Girl and one of its new comedies will get the heavily promoted spot after the game.

Along with their programming lineup, execs also touted the imminent arrival of dynamic ad insertion to allow delayed viewing to deliver stronger value for advertisers.

Reilly will steer the net's annual upfront presentation to advertisers late Monday afternoon at New York's Beacon Theatre. More analysis and executive comment to follow.

FOX 2013-14 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times Eastern)

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                          Bones (fall) / ALMOST HUMAN (late fall)   
9:00-10:00 PM                        SLEEPY HOLLOW (fall) / The Following (midseason)

TUESDAY

8:00-8:30 PM                          DADS
8:30-9:00 PM                          BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
9:00-9:30 PM                          New Girl
9:30-10:00 PM                        The Mindy Project

WEDNESDAY

8:00-10:00 PM                        The X Factor (fall) / American Idol (midseason)

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                          The X Factor Results (fall) / American Idol Results (midseason)
9:00-10:00 PM                        Glee (fall) / RAKE (midseason)

FRIDAY

Fall:

8:00-9:00 PM                          JUNIOR MASTERCHEF

9:00-10:00 PM                        SLEEPY HOLLOW (encores)

Late Fall:

8:00-9:00 PM                          Bones
9:00-9:30 PM                          Raising Hope
9:30-10:00 PM                        ENLISTED

SATURDAY

7:00-10:30 PM                       Fox Sports Saturday
11:00 PM-12:30 AM               Animation Domination High-Def

SUNDAY

7:00-7:30 PM                          NFL Game (fall)
7:30-8:00 PM                          The OT (fall)
8:00-8:30 PM                          The Simpsons
8:30-9:00 PM                          Bob's Burgers
9:00-9:30 PM                          Family Guy
9:30-10:00 PM                        American Dad