Hey FOX, delivering your full midseason 2015 schedule at 8:30 ET on a Thursday night as if it were bad news! Heh.
The big news? Glee finally returns to the FOX schedule for its 6th and final season beginning FRIDAY January 9 with a special two hour premiere at 8/7c pm. It settles into its regular time period on January 16 at 9/8c PM. The series ends on March 20th with a two hour series finale.
American Idol premieres on Wednesday January 7 with a one hour episode at 8/7c PM. It will air in that time period for the rest of the season. On Thursday, January 8, Idol will air a two hour episode at 8/7c PM followed by another two hour episode on January 15. On January 22, Idol settles into it’s regular 1 hour episode at 8/7c pm. On Thursday March 26, Bones and Backstrom take over the schedule. At that point, it appears that Idol will only air on Wednesdays. It’s not clear if the show will expand to two hours on Wednesday at that point.
If Empire fails, or has a limited series order, Idol COULD eventually expand to two hours on Wednesdays to accommodate performances and results in one night, much as DWTS and SYTYCD do now.
By the way–100% NOT SURPRISED that FOX dumped Glee into the Friday night dead zone.
FOX couldn’t have made it any clearer that they’ve abandoned the low rated show, which nabbed a 6th season after showrunner, Ryan Murphy. wrangled a multi-year renewal for the series back in better rated days. Doubling up the premiere and finale episodes so the series’ 13 episodes are condensed into 11 weeks is a sign the network is “burning off” the show.
Check out the FULL FOX midseason 2o15 schedule below
FOX is announcing premiere dates for new series WORLD’S FUNNIEST FAILS (working title) (Jan. 16), BACKSTROM (Jan. 22), THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (March 1) and WEIRD LONERS (March 31); and returning series MASTERCHEF JUNIOR (Jan. 6), GLEE (Jan. 9), THE FOLLOWING (March 2), HELL’S KITCHEN (March 3) and BONES (March 26).
New unscripted comedy WORLD’S FUNNIEST FAILS (wt) premieres on Friday, Jan. 16 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). The irreverent one-hour series is based on the hit YouTube channel, FailArmy, which showcases the best “epic fail” viral videos in the most entertaining ways possible. Each week a panel of comedians will analyze the videos which have exploded across the internet, with the goal of awarding one with the ultimate “Fail of the Week.”
BACKSTROM, the offbeat crime procedural starring three-time Emmy Award nominee Rainn Wilson (“The Office,” “Six Feet Under”), premieres Thursday, Jan. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), following AMERICAN IDOL XIV’s time period premiere (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). Created and executive-produced by Hart Hanson (BONES), the series follows Detective EVERETT BACKSTROM, an unhealthy, offensive, irascible – albeit brilliant – detective who sees the worst in everyone, and he’s usually right.
End-of-the-world comedy THE LAST MAN ON EARTH premieres with a special one-hour event of back-to-back episodes Sunday, March 1 (9:00-9:30/9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT), and then moves into its regular time period the following week on Sunday, March 8 (9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT). Executive-produced, created by and starring Will Forte (“Nebraska,” “Saturday Night Live”), and executive-produced and directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord (“The Lego Movie,” “22 Jump Street”), the single-camera comedy chronicles the life and adventures of an average guy – and humanity’s last hope – who discovers what life is like when no one is telling you what you can and cannot do.
New ensemble comedy WEIRD LONERS debuts Tuesday, March 31 (9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT). From writer Michael J. Weithorn (“The King of Queens”) and director Jake Kasdan (NEW GIRL), the un-romantic comedy follows four single mid-30-somethings (Becki Newton, “Ugly Betty”; Zachary Knighton, “Happy Endings”; Nate Torrence, “Hello Ladies”; and newcomer Meera Rohit Kumbhani), who are unexpectedly thrust into one another’s lives and form an unlikely bond in a Queens, NY, townhouse.
GLEE takes its final bow with a sixth and final 13-episode season starting with a special two-hour premiere event Friday, Jan. 9 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). New Directions’ original star, RACHEL BERRY (Golden Globe Award nominee Lea Michele), comes home to Lima, after her humiliating failure as a TV actress, and discovers that SUE SYLVESTER (Emmy Award winner Jane Lynch) has banished the arts at McKinley. Throughout its closing season, McKinley alumnae will return to say “good-bye” to the award-winning and groundbreaking musical comedy. The series makes its time period premiere Friday, Jan. 16 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and air all-new episodes for 11 consecutive weeks, culminating in a special two-hour Series Finale on Friday, March 20 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).
Returning series premiering this winter include MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, which returns for its third season of talented kids, astounding culinary abilities and delicious challenges. Featuring host and award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay, restaurateur Joe Bastianich and acclaimed chef Graham Elliot, cycle three of MASTERCHEF JUNIOR gets cooking Tuesday, Jan. 6 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), leading into all-new episodes of NEW GIRL (9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT) and THE MINDY PROJECT (9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT).
On Monday, March 2, hit psychological thriller THE FOLLOWING returns for its third shocking season with a special two-hour Season Three premiere event (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and moves to its regular time period the following week on Monday, March 9 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).
The first week of March also sees Chef Gordon Ramsay firing up a new season of HELL’S KITCHEN, beginning Tuesday, March 3 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). BONES returns with all-new cases Thursday, March 26 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), followed by BACKSTROM (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).
Additional premiere dates and schedule details to be announced.
FOX 2015 RECAP
(Times for All-New Episodes are ET/PT Except as Noted)
Sunday, Jan. 4:
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (All-New Episode)
8:30-9:00 PM BROOKLYN NINE-NINE (All-New Episode)
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY (All-New Episode)
9:30-10:00 PM BOB’S BURGERS (All-New Episode)
Mondays, beginning Jan. 5:
8:00-9:00 PM GOTHAM (All-New Episode)
9:00-10:00 PM SLEEPY HOLLOW (All-New Episode)
Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 6:
8:00-9:00 PM MASTERCHEF JUNIOR (Season Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM NEW GIRL (All-New Episode)
9:30-10:00 PM THE MINDY PROJECT (All-New Episode)
Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 7:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL XIV (Season Premiere, Part One)
9:00-10:00 PM EMPIRE (Series Premiere, with Limited Interruption)
Thursday, Jan. 8:
8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL XIV (Season Premiere, Part Two)
Sundays, beginning, Jan. 11:
7:00-7:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (Encore Episode)
7:30-8:00 PM MULANEY (All-New Episode)
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (All-New Episode)
8:30-9:00 PM BROOKLYN NINE-NINE (All-New Episode)
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY (All-New Episode)
9:30-10:00 PM BOB’S BURGERS (All-New Episode)
Friday, Jan. 9:
8:00-10:00 PM GLEE (Two-Hour Season Premiere)
Thursday, Jan. 15:
8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL XIV (All-New Episode)
Fridays, beginning Jan. 16:
8:00-9:00 PM WORLD’S FUNNIEST FAILS (wt) (Series Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM GLEE (Time Period Premiere)
Thursdays, beginning Jan. 22:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL XIV (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM BACKSTROM (Series Premiere)
Sunday, March 1:
7:00-7:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (Encore Episode)
7:30-8:00 PM BOB’S BURGERS (Time Period Premiere)
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (All-New Episode)
8:30-9:00 PM BROOKLYN NINE-NINE (All-New Episode)
9:00-10:00 PM THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (One-Hour Premiere Event)
Monday, March 2:
8:00-10:00 PM THE FOLLOWING (Two-Hour Season Premiere Event)
Tuesdays, beginning March 3:
8:00-9:00 PM HELL’S KITCHEN (Season Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM NEW GIRL (All-New Episode)
9:30-10:00 PM THE MINDY PROJECT (All-New Episode)
Sundays, beginning March 8:
7:00-7:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (Encore Episode)
7:30-8:00 PM BOB’S BURGERS (All-New Episode)
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (All-New Episode)
8:30-9:00 PM BROOKLYN NINE-NINE (All-New Episode)
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY (All-New Episode)
9:30-10:00 PM THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (Time Period Premiere)
Mondays, beginning March 9:
8:00-9:00 PM GOTHAM (All-New Episode)
9:00-10:00 PM THE FOLLOWING (Time Period Premiere)
Friday, March 20:
8:00-10:00 PM GLEE (Two-Hour Series Finale)
Thursday, March 26:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES (Spring Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM BACKSTROM (All-New Episode)
Tuesdays, beginning March 31:
8:00-9:00 PM HELL’S KITCHEN (All-New Episode)
9:00-9:30 PM NEW GIRL (All-New Episode)
9:30-10:00 PM WEIRD LONERS (Series Premiere)
