Fox Upfront/General News and Discussion: 2020-21

[TJ]

Blog story: https://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2020/...hedule_11.html

FOX ANNOUNCES FALL 2020 SCHEDULE

TELEVISION'S #1 SERIES, "THE MASKED SINGER," RETURNS THIS FALL

ALL-NEW ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING INCLUDES PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER "NEXT," STARRING JOHN SLATTERY, AND SOUTHERN GOTHIC SOAP "FILTHY RICH," STARRING KIM CATTRALL; PLUS ALL-NEW SEASONS OF ANIMATION DOMINATION'S "THE SIMPSONS," "BLESS THE HARTS,""BOB'S BURGERS" AND "FAMILY GUY" AND GORDON RAMSAY'S HIT COOKING COMPETITION SERIES, "MASTERCHEF JUNIOR"

MAKING ITS NETWORK TELEVISION DEBUT, POLICE DRAMA "L.A.'S FINEST," STARRING JESSICA ALBA AND GABRIELLE UNION, TO AIR ON FOX

"COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS" ALSO TO AIR ON FOX

ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING PREMIERING AT MIDSEASON INCLUDES "9-1-1" AND THE #1 NEW DRAMA "9-1-1: LONE STAR," PLUS ALL-NEW SEASONS OF ANIMATED COMEDY "DUNCANVILLE," STARRING AND EXECUTIVE-PRODUCED BY AMY POEHLER; AND RAMSAY'S "HELL'S KITCHEN"; ALONG WITH NEW COMEDY "CALL ME KAT," STARRING MAYIM BIALIK AND EXECUTIVE-PRODUCED BY BIALIK AND JIM PARSONS; AND NEW ANIMATED SERIES "THE GREAT NORTH" AND "HOUSEBROKEN"

Responding to real-time shifts in the marketplace, FOX, this season's #1 network among Adults 18-49, and the only network to experience year-to-year growth in the demo and Total Viewers, is announcing its Fall 2020 schedule. The programming slate includes Season Four of television's #1 series, THE MASKED SINGER, new drama series NEXT and FILTHY RICH, as well as all-new seasons of returning animated series THE SIMPSONS, BLESS THE HARTS, BOB'S BURGERS and FAMILY GUY, along with Gordon Ramsay's hit cooking competition series, MASTERCHEF JUNIOR. Also, making its network television debut is police drama L.A.'S FINEST, starring Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union, along with the third installment of COSMOS, entitled COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS.

In midseason, original programming includes 9-1-1 and the #1 new drama 9-1-1: LONE STAR; along with new comedy CALL ME KAT, starring Mayim Bialik and executive-produced by Bialik and Jim Parsons; and new animated comedies THE GREAT NORTH and HOUSEBROKEN. Also part of FOX's 2020-2021 programming slate are all-new seasons of animated comedy DUNCANVILLE, starring and executive-produced by Amy Poehler; and Ramsay's HELL'S KITCHEN.

"The effects of this global health crisis leave no business unaffected. As a media company that prides itself on an entrepreneurial spirit and the focus that comes with doing fewer things better, we mobilized, swiftly creating an entirely new, original-programming lineup for the fall to share with our partners this upfront," said Charlie Collier, CEO, FOX Entertainment "In remote meetings with advertising and marketing partners over recent weeks, we sought to listen first and understand each partner's unique concerns. Our primary goal is to help them back to business, so in turn, the message we've shared is one of relative stability on FOX, combining the best of primetime sports and entertainment with which to help our partners and their customers back to market."

"Now, more than ever, consistency, results and stability take on an all new emphasis," said Marianne Gambelli, President, FOX Ad Sales. "FOX is primed and ready for the fall with a great deal of stability across our entire programming lineup, featuring premium content that continually resonates with viewers, and the necessary scale that builds demand and produces results. During these uncertain times, we remain focused on the individual business needs of our partners and will continue to work with them to develop custom solutions with our unmatched offerings of assets to help drive their businesses forward."

The all-new series premiering this fall are NEXT and FILTHY RICH.

From creator and executive producer Manny Coto ("24: Legacy"), executive producer Charlie Gogolak ("This Is Us") and executive producers and directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra ("This Is Us"), NEXT is a propulsive, fact-based thriller about the emergence of a deadly, rogue artificial intelligence that combines pulse-pounding action with a layered examination of how technology is invading our lives. The event series stars Emmy Award nominee John Slattery ("Mad Men") as a Silicon Valley pioneer, who discovers that one of his own creations - a powerful A.I. - might spell global catastrophe. He teams up with a cybercrime agent (Fernanda Andrade, "The First") to fight a villain unlike anything we've ever seen - one whose greatest weapon against us is ourselves. The series also stars Michael Mosley ("Ozark"), Jason Butler Harner ("Ozark"), Eve Harlow ("Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."), Aaron Moten ("Mozart in the Jungle"), Gerardo Celasco ("How to Get Away with Murder"), Elizabeth Cappuccino ("Jessica Jones") and Evan Whitten (THE RESIDENT).

FILTHY RICH is a southern Gothic family soap in which wealth, power and religion collide - with outrageously soapy results. When the patriarch (Emmy Award winner Gerald McRaney, "This Is Us," "24: Legacy") of a mega-rich Southern family, famed for creating a wildly successful Christian television network, dies in a plane crash, his wife (five-time Emmy Award nominee and Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe winner Kim Cattrall, "Sex and the City") and family are stunned to learn that he fathered three illegitimate children, all of whom are written into his will, threatening their family name and fortune. With monumental twists and turns, FILTHY RICH presents a world in which everyone has an ulterior motive - and no one is going down without a fight. From writer/director Tate Taylor ("Ma," "The Help," "The Girl on the Train"), the series also stars Melia Kreiling ("Tyrant"), Aubrey Dollar ("Battle Creek"), Corey Cott ("The Good Fight"), Benjamin Levy Aguilar ("Straight Outta Compton"), Mark L. Young ("We're The Millers") and Olivia Macklin ("LA to Vegas"), with Emmy Award nominee Steve Harris ("The Practice") and Aaron Lazar ("Quantico," "The Strain"). Kim Cattrall also serves as a producer on the series.

Returning with all-new episodes this fall are THE MASKED SINGER, THE SIMPSONS, BLESS THE HARTS, BOB'S BURGERS, FAMILY GUY and MASTERCHEF JUNIOR.

THE MASKED SINGER is the #1 show on television, drawing a massive audience of nearly 30 million viewers across platforms in its post-Super Bowl Season Three premiere. The singing competition series features celebrities facing off against one another with one major twist: each singer is shrouded from head-to-toe in an elaborate costume, complete with full face mask to conceal his or her identity. With each performance, the host, panelists, audience, viewers and even the other contestants are left guessing who is singing behind the mask. Ranging from Grammy Award winners to legendary athletes, and everything in between, the singers may attempt to throw the crowd off their scent, while keen observers might pick up on tiny clues buried throughout the show. One singer will be eliminated each week, ultimately revealing his or her true identity. Season Four of THE MASKED SINGER premieres this fall.

The longest-running primetime scripted show in television history, THE SIMPSONS exploded into popular culture in 1990 and has remained one of the most groundbreaking and innovative entertainment franchises, recognizable throughout the world. HOMER (Dan Castellaneta), MARGE (Julie Kavner), BART (Nancy Cartwright), LISA (Yeardley Smith) and MAGGIE are instantly identifiable television icons. Rounding out this cast of characters are many beloved Springfield residents, including tavern proprietor MOE SZYSLAK (Hank Azaria) and nuclear power plant owner MR. BURNS (Harry Shearer). The Emmy Award-, Annie Award- and Peabody Award-winning animated comedy will begin its 32nd season this year.

Created and executive-produced by Emmy Award winner Emily Spivey, and featuring a voice cast of comedy all-stars, including Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz and Kumail Nanjani, animated comedy BLESS THE HARTS follows the Harts, a Southern family that is always broke, and forever struggling to make ends meet. They one day hope to achieve the American dream, but they're already rich - in friends, family and laughter.

BOB'S BURGERS follows BOB (H. Jon Benjamin) and his ever-quirky family who together run the restaurant Bob's Burgers. In addition to its 2019 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Animated Program, the series has been nominated in the same category in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, having won the award twice, its first Emmy Award in 2014 and in 2017. The series also recently was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award and an Annie Award. In addition to Benjamin, BOB'S BURGERS features the voices of John Roberts, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Dan Mintz and Larry Murphy. Bento Box Entertainment serves as the program's animation studio.

FAMILY GUY continues to entertain its die-hard fan base with razor-sharp humor, spot-on parodies, spectacular animation and orchestra-backed original music. Since its debut in 1999, the series has reached cult status among fans, and its breakout star, a talking baby, has become one of the greatest TV characters of all time. FAMILY GUY has racked up numerous awards, including an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series, only the second animated series in television history to be honored with such a distinction. Most recently, series creator and lead voice actor Seth MacFarlane (voices of "Peter Griffin," "Stewie Griffin," "Brian Griffin" and "Glen Quagmire") won the 2019 Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance. Cast member Alex Borstein (voice of "Lois Griffin") won the 2018 Emmy Award in the category. MacFarlane also was nominated that year. He won the 2017 and 2016 Emmy Award in the category, and was nominated from 2013 to 2015.

Entering its eighth season, MASTERCHEF JUNIOR gives talented kids between the ages of 8 and 13 the chance to showcase their culinary abilities and passion for food through a series of delicious challenges. The hit culinary competition series features world renowned chef Gordon Ramsay, acclaimed chef Aarón Sánchez and nutrition expert, author and new judge Daphne Oz. This season, the pint-sized contestants will cook a meal for diners at a historical renaissance fair; see how they size up to monster trucks at a motocross track; welcome Gordon's daughter, Tilly Ramsay, back to the MASTERCHEF kitchen for a donut challenge; and participate in a WWE-themed episode until one talented kid is named America's newest MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, taking home the MASTERCHEF JUNIOR trophy and $100,000 grand prize.

Making their network television debuts are L.A.'S FINEST and COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS.

From the universe of the Jerry Bruckheimer "Bad Boys" franchise, the one-hour series L.A.'S FINEST follows Syd Burnett (Gabrielle Union), last seen in Miami taking down a drug cartel, who has seemingly left her complicated past behind to become an LAPD detective. Paired with a new partner, Nancy McKenna (Jessica Alba), a working mom with an equally complex history, Syd is forced to confront how her unapologetic lifestyle may be masking a greater personal secret. Taking on the most dangerous criminals in Los Angeles while skirting the rules, and speed limits, Syd and Nancy become a force to be reckoned with - on the streets, and in each other's lives.

Returning for its third installment, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning COSMOS will once again be executive-produced, written and directed by Ann Druyan (NASA's Voyager Record, "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage," "Contact"); executive-produced by Seth MacFarlane, Brannon Braga and Jason Clark; and hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, the famed pop-culture icon and astrophysicist. Continuing the legacy of its predecessors, COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS will translate the revelations of science into a lavishly transporting experience, taking audiences on a series of spiritual voyages of exploration. Created and produced in partnership with the National Geographic Channel, which aired the series this spring, the new season will reveal previously uncharted realms, including lost worlds and worlds to come, and those that we may one day inhabit in a thrilling future we can still have.

Additional pickups, schedule information and specials to be announced.

FOX FALL 2020 SCHEDULE (All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM L.A.'S FINEST (network television debut)
9:00-10:00 PM NEXT (new series)

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS (network television debut)
9:00-10:00 PM FILTHY RICH (new series)

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM THE MASKED SINGER (new season)
9:00-10:00 PM MASTERCHEF JUNIOR (new season)

THURSDAY
7:30-8:00 PM ET/4:30-5:00 PM PT FOX NFL THURSDAY PRESENTED BY VERIZON
8:00-8:19 PM ET/5:00-5:19 PM PT GMC KICKOFF SHOW
8:20 PM-CC ET/5:20 PM-CC PT THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PRESENTED BY BUD LIGHT PLATINUM

FRIDAY
8:00-10:00 PM WWE'S FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN

SATURDAY
7:00-10:30 PM FOX SPORTS SATURDAY

SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 PM NFL ON FOX
7:30-8:00 PM THE OT / FOX ENCORES
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (new season)
8:30-9:00 PM BLESS THE HARTS (new season)
9:00-9:30 PM BOB'S BURGERS (new season)
9:30-10:00 PM FAMILY GUY (new season)

[icecream]

What a lousy fall schedule! If 9-1-1 is even being held for midseason, that makes me more concerned about Prodigal Son's fate. Prodigal Son deserves Emmy consideration for best drama, and all four of the Whitly/Bright actors deserve nominated. If restrictions for shooting scripted shows in California and New York are still high, they should move their production and sets to states like mine that have more freedom. And Mental Samurai should have been Wednesdays at 9:00 to get the Masked Singer lead-in it would have originally had in April. Masterchef Junior could have aired Tuesdays at 8:00 then, with Cosmos shipped off to Nat Geo. Who Wants to be a Millionaire? went to no studio audience, so Mental Samurai could have as well.

[icecream]

It is really sad that Last Man Standing will officially pass Tim Allen's far superior sitcom Home Improvement in number of seasons now with being renewed for season 9. Season 1 of LMS was its best season, even that paled in comparison to Home Improvement. Then Tim Allen was a total jerk to Alexandra Krosney getting her fired for disagreeing with wanting to make LMS more political (I am with her there, Home Improvement was hardly political at all and still a great show). She was a lot more likable than the new Kristin who has ended up being it for most of the show's run. I did not like that change, but LMS still had some potential during its ABC run. Then Mandy was recast for the horrible FOX version and it really went downhill then, now Eve barely appears any more. I have come close to dropping it a few times, but Jay Leno's appearances are a bright spot. Unfortunately he misses a large portion of episodes still.

[Chocolate Moose]

Wow. I don't know any of those shows and I don't want to.

[MA]

Fox for fall: A (mostly) coronavirus-proof schedule with holdovers, borrowed shows, reality TV

https://www.usatoday.com/story/enter...nt/3106533001/

[icecream]

The Moodys is renewed for season 2.

https://tvline.com/2020/07/10/the-mo...-season-2-fox/

[MA]

Originally Posted by catsrule

The Moodys is renewed for season 2.

https://tvline.com/2020/07/10/the-mo...-season-2-fox/

And it’s going to be a bigger order size:

https://deadline.com/2020/07/the-moo...dy-1202983028/

[MA]

Fox Sets Filthy Rich and L.A.'s Finest Premiere Dates — Watch New Trailers

https://tvline.com/2020/07/31/filthy...es-las-finest/

[icecream]

Last Man Standing will end for good after season 9. It is still sad that this far inferior show outlasted Home Improvement, but at least it will just be by one season now.

https://tvline.com/2020/10/14/last-m...n-9-tim-allen/

[icecream]

In number of episodes though, Home Improvement will outlast Last Man Standing 203-194. Good!

[MA]

It’s sad to see Last Man Standing end, but it had a great run!

[icecream]

FOX has announced their January premiere dates. Last Man Standing will move 90 minutes later to Thursdays at 9:30 for its final season. FOX probably sensed a weakness in never should have been renewed The Unicorn. LMS could get the viewers who flee from Mom, both shows are on CMT. While Young Sheldon was lower last week, that was because of The Bachelorette garbage airing on a different night. Mayim Bialik's new comedy will air Thursdays at 9:00, both it and LMS will have Sunday football fueled premieres before moving to Thursdays. Mental Samurai again gets screwed. I know there have been production delays for shows, but game shows are said to still be easier. All Samurai would have to do is remove the audience like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? did. Hopefully it will for real get the Masked Singer lead-in when that returns with its 2nd cycle. Prodigal Son is a brilliant show FOX had better be behind for season 3 renewal, sending it to the wolves against This is Us was not nice. Lone Star sucks and has none of the appeal of parent 9-1-1.

https://tvline.com/2020/11/10/911-se...schedule-2021/

[MA]

Fox Doubles Up on '911' for Midseason

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...-for-midseason

[MA]

Fox Sets January Premieres for 9-1-1, Resident, Miranda Remake and More

https://tvline.com/2020/11/10/911-se...schedule-2021/

[icecream]

Easter Sunday (April 4), Angela Bassett will narrate a 2 hour wildlife special called Malika the Lion Queen at 8:00/7:00.