Skip to main content

FOX Reconfigures Midseason Slate Amid Extended Strike

Well, that's one less unscripted series to worry about clogging up air time this spring.

FOX has pulled reality series When Women Rule the World off its schedule, benching the series until this summer, a move which has freed up real estate on its now 24-free Monday night lineup.

According to Variety, the decision to cut When Women Rule the World "could have come down to a sales issue. On the surface, When Women Rule the World -- which follows a group of women who control a group of men -- does not sound like something advertisers would be keen on.

New midseason dramas Canterbury's Law--starring Julianna Margulies as a hard-edged attorney who takes whatever is necessary to win a case (though one to whom Damages' Patty Hewes wouldn't likely give a second thought)--and New Amsterdam, about an immortal detective (no, not Angel... or Moonlight) will now launch on Monday nights.

Both series will launch after Prison Break and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles wrap their shortened runs on Monday evenings, behind repeats of House.

Also on tap: midseason series The Return of Jezebel James, Unhitched, and Thursday night installments of American Idol, along with reality series Moment of Truth.

While I am not particularly keen on any of FOX's midseason entries, I'm at least glad that some of them are scripted series that were held over until now, rather than ghastly strike-replacement programming like When Women Rule the World.

Comments

Anonymous said…
When Women Rule the World sounded truly, truly awful and I'm happy to see it disappearing from the Fox schedule, although I can't say that the scripted programs look much better.
rockauteur said…
I think WHEN WOMEN RULE THE WORLD was moved because they actually have high hopes for the show, and will lead FOX's summer line-up. Since FOX actually wants to promote New Amsterdam and Canturbury's Law now, rather than shoving them on the graveyard Friday night shift, and hopefully see one or both of them become a hit to return in the fall. There hasn't been much talked about any of the network's summer plans, and WHEN WOMEN definitely gives something for Fox to crow about this summer rather than close up shop. THis combined with a possible additional season of Hell's Kitchen - which has already been shot - could give Fox a potent summer... and I've heard they are pretty high on this show.
John T. Folden said…
It's worth noting that New Amsterdam has it's first two episodes premiering behind American Idol on March 4th and 6th, too... they suddenly seem determined to make a hit out of it.

Popular posts from this blog

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

Pilot Inspektor: CBS' "Smith"

I may just have to change my original "What I'll Be Watching This Fall" post, as I sat down and finally watched CBS' new crime drama Smith this weekend. (What? It's taken me a long time to make my way through the stack of pilot DVDs.) While it's on following Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights (10 pm ET/PT, to be exact), I'm going to be sure to leave enough room on my TiVo to make sure that I catch this compelling, amoral drama. While one can't help but be impressed by what might just be the most marquee-friendly cast in primetime--Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, and Franky G all star and Shohreh Aghdashloo has a recurring role--the pilot's premise alone earned major points in my book: it's a crime drama from the point of view of the criminals, who engage in high-stakes heists. But don't be alarmed; it's nothing like NBC's short-lived Heist . Instead, think of it as The Italian

The Daily Beast: "How The Killing Went Wrong"

While the uproar over the U.S. version of The Killing has quieted, the show is still a pale imitation of the Danish series on which it is based. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "How The Killing Went Wrong," in which I look at how The Killing has handled itself during its second season, and compare it to the stunning and electrifying original Danish series, Forbrydelsen , on which it is based. (I recently watched all 20 episodes of Forbrydelsen over a few evenings.) The original is a mind-blowing and gut-wrenching work of genius. It’s not necessary to rehash the anger that followed in the wake of the conclusion last June of the first season of AMC’s mystery drama The Killing, based on Søren Sveistrup’s landmark Danish show Forbrydelsen, which follows the murder of a schoolgirl and its impact on the people whose lives the investigation touches upon. What followed were irate reviews, burnished with the “burning intensity of 10,000 white-hot suns