Fox's 2012-'13 Season Beefs Up Comedy Block

by Wayne Friedman, May 14, 2012, 10:14 AM

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Although Fox's overall ratings are down year-to-year, due to double-digit declines with "American Idol," it will win the season among key 18-49 viewers. That means the network has fewer holes to fill for the 2012-2013 season.

Fox will start up a comedy block on Tuesdays, adding two new comedies --  "Ben and Kate" and one by comedian Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project") to its schedule. It will also be adding one drama, "The Mob Doctor," replacing "House" on Mondays.

"Mob" focuses on a life-saving surgeon caught in a complex web between her promising medical career and her family’s debt to Chicago’s Southside mob. It stars Jordana Spiro, who was last seen in “My Boys” on TBS. "Bones" will move to Mondays at 8 p.m. before "Mob" begins.

Fox will look to build an all-comedy Tuesday night, much as NBC is doing. It starts off the 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. hours, respectively, with "Raising Hope" and "New Girl."

"Ben and Kate," which will start at 8:30 p.m., is about a pair of odd-couple siblings -- one an overly responsible single mom and the other an exuberant kid-at-heart -- and their friends as they push each other out of their comfort zones and into real life. "Mindy,"at 8:30 p.m.,  features a skilled OB/GYN navigating her personal and professional life -- looking to become a more perfect woman and finding the perfect man.

"Touch" will move to Fridays, which will run with "Fringe," finishing its series run with 13-episodes. Fox has been winning Friday night among 18-49 viewers. Fox will begin a virtually year-round effort on Saturday with sports programming, "Fox Sports Saturday."

"X-Factor" will return on Wednesdays and Thursdays, seemingly going head-to-head with a new fall version of "The Voice" on NBC. "'X-Factor did a 4.2 rating average and by anyone's measure, that's success," says Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment for Fox Broadcasting.

"American Idol" will then come back in its usual Wednesdays and Thursdays midseason. "Glee" will move from earlier in the week to run at 9 p.m on Thursdays after "Idol." Going into its 12th season -- and with some steep declines in ratings this year -- Reilly says about the show: "There will be some creative tweaking on 'Idol'" -- although he did not elaborate. 

Reilly cited more than the usual disruptions with start of the new season: "We have challenges in the fall with the elections and post-season baseball." Overall, Fox has now won eight straight seasons among 18-49 viewers and 10 straight seasons among 18-34 viewers.

"The Following" is one of two midseason shows that is getting the go -ahead from Fox. The show -- from Kevin Williamson of “Dawson’s Creek" and “Scream” fame --  stars Kevin Bacon as an ex-FBI agent called out of retirement to track down a serial killer, the mastermind behind a nationwide string of murders. "Following" will run at Mondays, taking the place of "Mob."

"People have asked where is the next '24'? I think we have found it," says Reilly. "It is going to play for 15 weeks straight." And it will get heavy promotion, he says. Reilly adds that developing dramas of this type, running original shows straight through the spring, works for the network -- especially since viewers are available.

"The Goodwin Games" is another midseason show, a comedy that comes from the producers of "How I Met Your Mother." It is about a family of three estranged siblings who return home after the loss of their beloved father -- where they stand to inherit more than $20 million if they can adhere to their late father’s trivial wishes. "Games" will run on Tuesdays in Fox's comedy slate.

Fox shows that have already been cancelled or are not returning include: "Alcatraz," "Allen Gregory," "Breaking In," "The Finder," "I Hate My Teenage Daughter," "Terra Nova," and "Napoleon Dynamite."


Fox 2012-2013  Prime-time Schedule

(All Times EST/PST)

Monday

8:00-9:00 p.m                         "Bones"
9:00-10:00 p.m                       "The Mob Doctor" (new)

"The Following" (new) joins in midseason.

Tuesday

8:00-8:30 p.m.                        "Raising Hope"
8:30-9:00 p.m.                        "Ben and Kate"  (new)
9:00-9:30 p.m.                        "New Girl"
9:30-10:00 p.m.                      "The Mindy Project" (new)

"The Goodwin Games" (new) joins in midseason.

Wednesday

8:00-10:00 p.m.                      "The X Factor" (fall) / "American Idol" (midseason)

Thursday

8:00-9:00 p.m.                        "The X Factor Results" (fall) / "American Idol Results" (midseason)
9:00-10:00 p.m.                        "Glee'

Friday

8:00-9:00 p.m.                        "Touch"
9:00-10:00 p.m.                       "Fringe" (fall)

"Hell's Kitchen" returns in midseason.

Saturday

7:00-10:30 p.m.                       "Fox Sports Saturday" (fall)

"Cops" returns in midseason.
"Animation Domination High-Def" (new) will join late-prime in 2013.

Sunday

7:00-7:30 p.m.                         NFL Game (fall) / "Animation Domination" (encores)
7:30-8:00 p,m.                         "The OT" (fall) / "The Cleveland Show"
8:00-8:30 p.m.                         "The Simpsons"
8:30-9:00 p.m.                         "Bob's Burgers"
9:00-9:30 p.m.                         "Family Guy"
9:30-10:00 PM                          "American Dad"

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