Fox on Monday unveiled its fall 2019-20 lineup that will mark the series finale of Empire, a different night for The Resident, and a fresh home for the costumed crazies of professional wrestling. Missing from the lineup: Last Man Standing and Orville, which will return in 2020. As usual, lots of new and returning shows were held back because of sports, such as the new dramas 9-1-1: Lone Star, Deputy, Filthy Rich, and neXt, as well as the live-action comedy Outmatched and the animated sitcoms Duncanville and The Great North. There will also be new seasons of Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back, Hell’s Kitchen, Masterchef, Masterchef Junior, Paradise Hotel, So You Think You Can Dance, and Spin the Wheel, as well as a new competition show called Ultimate Tag. And Smackdown Live, which started its broadcast TV run on UPN and CW back in the day, will premiere Oct. 4 on Fox and air 52 weeks a year. The network signed a five-year, $200 million-plus deal with the WWE last June to acquire the franchise. One more treat for those Masked Singer fans: a third season will kick off after Fox’s telecast of Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2. Here is the fall 2019-20 lineup: MONDAY 8:00-9:00 PM 9-1-1 9:00-10:00 PM Prodigal Son TUESDAY 8:00-9:00 PM The Resident 9:00-10:00 PM Empire WEDNESDAY 8:00-9:00 PM The Masked Singer 9:00-10:00 PM Not Just Me THURSDAY 7:30-8:00 PM ET Thursday Night Football Pregame Show 4:30-5:00 PM PT 8:00 PM-CC ET/5:00 PM-CC PT NFL Football FRIDAY 8:00-10:00 PM WWE’S Smackdown Live SATURDAY 7:00-10:30 PM Fox Sports Saturday: Fox College Football 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 8:30-9:00 PM Bless the Harts (new series) 9:00-9:30 PM Bob’s Burgers 9:30-10:00 PM Family Guy Here are Fox’s descriptions of the new shows: Not Just Me: the story of an unusual family formed through extreme odds, exploring such hot-button issues as identity, human connection and what it truly means to be a family. An only child (Brittany Snow) finds her life turned upside down when her father (Timothy Hutton,) reveals that, over the course of his prize-winning career as a pioneering fertility doctor, he used his own sperm to conceive upwards of a hundred children, including two new sisters. Prodigal Son: The series stars Tom Payne as the son of a convicted serial killer (Michael Sheen), who has made hunting murderers his life’s work. The series also stars Bellamy Young and Lou Diamond Phillips. Bless the Harts: The animated comedy 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. The series features the voices of Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Ike Barinholtz and Mary Steenburgen. 9-1-1: Lone Star: The series stars Rob Lowe (The Grinder) as a sophisticated New York cop who, along with his son, re-locates to Austin and must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in his own life. Deputy: When the Los Angeles County’s Sheriff dies, an arcane rule forged back in the Wild West thrusts the most unlikely man into the job: a fifth-generation lawman (Stephen Dorff), more comfortable taking down bad guys than navigating a sea of politics, who won’t rest until justice is served. Filthy Rich: A southern Gothic family drama in which wealth, power and religion collide – with outrageously soapy results. When the patriarch (Gerald McRaney) of a mega-rich Southern family, famed for creating a wildly successful Christian television network, dies in a plane crash, his wife (Kim Cattrall) 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. NeXt: 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 and transforming us in ways we don’t yet understand. 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, and teams up with a cyber crime agent (Fernanda Andrade) to fight a villain unlike anything we’ve ever seen – one whose greatest weapon against us is ourselves. Duncanville: An animated family comedy centered around a spectacularly average 15-year-old boy with a rich fantasy life, and the people in his world. Amy Poehler voices the series’ two leading characters, Duncan and his mother, Annie. Outmatched: A multi-camera family comedy about a blue-collar couple in Atlantic City trying to raise four kids – three of whom just happen to be certified geniuses. The Great North: An animated comedy that follows the Alaskan adventures of the Tobin family, as a single dad does his best to keep his weird bunch of kids close, especially as the artistic dreams of his only daughter lead her away from the family fishing boat and into the glamorous world of the local mall. Featured voices include Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally and Will Forte.<doc-sep>WWE SmackDown Live is displacing Fox’s live-action comedy block, which could not find a new home on the network’s fall schedule. Meanwhile, sent to a new home for its sixth and final season is drama Empire, whose longtime Wednesday time slot is being taken over by breakout reality spectacle The Masked Singer. Here is Fox’s fall 2019-20 schedule, followed by brief analysis and detailed descriptions of the network’s new series. FOX FALL 2019-20 SCHEDULE (New programs in UPPER CASE) MONDAY 8-9 PM — 9-1-1 9-10 PM — PRODIGAL SON TUESDAY 8-9 PM — The Resident 9-10 PM — Empire WEDNESDAY 8-9 PM — The Masked Singer 9-10 PM — NOT JUST ME THURSDAY 7:30-8 PM ET/ — Thursday Night Football Pregame Show 4:30-5:00 PM PT 8:00 PM-CC ET/ — NFL Football 5:00 PM-CC PT Related Story 'Our Kind Of People': Newcomer Alana Bright To Co-Star In Fox Drama Series FRIDAY 8-10 PM — WWE’S Smackdown Live SATURDAY 7-10:30 PM — Fox Sports Saturday: Fox College Football SUNDAY 7–7:30 PM — NFL ON FOX 7:30-8 PM — The OT / Fox Encores 8-8:30 PM — The Simpsons 8:30-9 PM — BLESS THE HARTS 9-9:30 PM — Bob’s Burgers 9:30-10 PM — Family Guy “Today marks a new beginning for Fox Entertainment,” CEO Charlie Collier said in unveiling the lineup of the newly independent network post the Disney-21st Century Fox deal. “We are redefining what it means to be an entertainment company, and what it means to be FOX, for 2019 and beyond.” Fox’s real estate for entertainment programming is shrinking this fall as WWE SmackDown Live takes over Fridays. Between that and Thursday Night Football, Fox had three nights to program for fall outside of its signature Sunday animated lineup, which is adding Bless the Harts, one of three new animated series ordered by Fox for next season, along with Duncanville and The Great North. There is a major change among the veterans in the animation lineup, with longtime 9 PM tentpole Family Guy moving to 9:30 PM and Bob’s Burgers taking over the anchor spot. Fox’s top scripted series, drama 9-1-1, is shifting from 9 PM to the anchor 8 PM on Monday to become a launch pad for new cop/serial killer drama Prodigal Son. Bridging the fall and spring half-seasons of 9-1-1 will be the newly ordered spinoff series, 9-1-1: Lone Star, starring Rob Lowe, which will launch on Sunday, Jan. 19, behind the NFC Championship, before moving into its Monday 8 PM slot on Jan. 20. This season’s phenom, Fox’s highest rated series The Masked Singer, will be back with a vengeance, getting Empire‘s Wednesday 8 PM slot and a third season in addition to the already ordered second one, which will launch after the Super Bowl. on Sunday, Feb. 2. Like 9-1-1 The Masked Singer also will be used to launch a new sisters drama series, Not Just Me (fka Untitled Annie Weisman/Jason Katims). Fox picked up a whopping six new drama series this upfront. Two are on the fall schedule, the others, 9-1-1: Lone Star, Deputy, NeXt and Filthy Rich will debut later in the season. Filthy Rich was supposed to be on the fall schedule, but creator Tate Taylor’s film schedule did not permit. Tuesday will become a land of the displaced in the fall, housing Empire, which, after five years on Wednesday, will relocate to Tuesday for its sixth and final season. (The end of the series, which had been grappling with the Jussie Smollett controversy, was revealed by Fox this morning.) The hip-hop family drama series, which will mark its 100th episode next season, will be joined on Tuesday by medical drama The Resident, which is moving there after two seasons on Monday. In addition to Last Man Standing, held for midseason is Fox’s lone new comedy series, the multi-camera family comedy Outmatched. Once again returning in midseason is Seth MacFarlane’s sci-fi comedy-drama The Orville, which takes longer to produce. Also set to debut next season is a new unscripted series Ultimate Tag, hosted by football stars and brothers JJ, TJ and Derek Watt. Here are descriptions of Fox’s new series: NEW SERIES DESCRIPTIONS COMEDY BLESS THE HARTS Created and executive-produced by Emmy Award winner Emily Spivey (“The Last Man on Earth,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Saturday Night Live”), BLESS THE HARTS is a new half-hour animated comedy that 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. JENNY HART (Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Kristen Wiig, “Bridesmaids,” “Saturday Night Live”) is a single mother supporting her family working as a waitress in the small town of Greenpoint, NC. While Jenny’s the head of her family, she’s often at odds with, or scheming with, her lottery scratcher-obsessed mother, BETTY (Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Maya Rudolph, “The Good Place,” “Bridesmaids”), and her witty, creative daughter, VIOLET (Emmy Award nominee Jillian Bell, “Workaholics,” “Fist Fight”). Jenny’s doting, eternal optimist boyfriend of 10 years, WAYNE EDWARDS (Ike Barinholtz, “Neighbors,” “Blockers”), is the love of her life and a surrogate father to Violet. He’s a charming dreamer who may never hit the big time, but he’s not going to give up the fight. In the end, the Harts may not have much, but they may just have everything they need. DUNCANVILLE (Midseason) From Golden Globe winner Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation,” “Saturday Night Live”) and Emmy Award winners Mike and Julie Scully (THE SIMPSONS, “The Carmichael Show,” (“Parks and Recreation”) comes DUNCANVILLE, an animated family comedy centered around a spectacularly average 15-year-old boy with a rich fantasy life, and the people in his world. Like most 15-year-olds, DUNCAN (Poehler) can see adulthood on the horizon: money, freedom, cars, girls…but the reality is more like: always being broke, driving with your mom sitting shotgun and babysitting your little sister. He’s not exceptional, but he has a rich fantasy life where he’s never anything less than amazing.<doc-sep>Fox has released trailers for three of its new shows premiering on the network this fall, as well as a bunch for its midseason offerings. New drama “Prodigal Son,” which features Michael Sheen, will join Fox’s Monday night lineup, “Not Just Me” will air Wednesday nights, and animated comedy “Bless the Harts,” from Amy Poehler, joins the network’s much-vaunted Sunday animated lineup, wedged between “The Simpsons” and “Bob’s Burgers.” Fox has opted to hold back the majority of its new content for midseason, and the lack of a new live-action comedies in the lineup is an intriguing first. Watch the trailers and read the official series descriptions for the new shows below. “Prodigal Son” – Mondays at 9 p.m. ET From Emmy Award-nominated executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter and writers Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver, “Prodigal Son” is a fresh take on a crime franchise with a provocative and outrageous lead character and a darkly comedic tone. Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) has a gift. He knows how killers think, how their minds work. Why? Back in the 1990s, his father (Sheen) was one of the best, a notorious serial killer called “The Surgeon.” That’s why Bright is the best criminal psychologist around; murder is the family business. He will use his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve crimes and stop killers, all while dealing with a manipulative mother, annoyingly normal sister, a homicidal father still looking to bond with his prodigal son and his own constantly evolving neuroses. “Not Just Me” – Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET Executive producer Jason Katims and writer Annie Weisman bring you the story of an unusual family formed through extreme odds. Exploring such hot-button issues as identity, human connection and what it truly means to be a family, this unconventional dramedy taps directly into the zeitgeist, harnessing the emotional complications that new generations of IVF-bred children all face. Only child Julia Bechley (Brittany Snow) finds her life turned upside down when her father, Leon Bechley (Timothy Hutton), reveals that, over the course of his prize-winning career as a pioneering fertility doctor, he used his own sperm to conceive upwards of a hundred children. Reeling from this explosive revelation, Julia discovers two new sisters – her former best friend, Edie Palmer (Megalyn Echikunwoke), and an ex-Olympic athlete, Roxy Doyle (Emily Osment). As these three young women begin to embrace their new reality, Julia must figure out what life is like without Leon by her side; Edie comes to grips with her burgeoning sexuality, as her marriage falters; and Roxy faces adulthood out of the spotlight. “Bless the Hearts” – Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET Created and executive-produced by Emily Spivey, “Bless The Harts” is a new half-hour animated comedy that 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. Jenny Hart (Kristen Wiig) is a single mother supporting her family working as a waitress in the small town of Greenpoint, NC. While Jenny’s the head of her family, she’s often at odds with, or scheming with, her lottery scratcher-obsessed mother, Betty (Maya Rudolph), and her witty, creative daughter, Violet (Jillian Bell). Jenny’s doting, eternal optimist boyfriend of 10 years, Wayne Edwards (Ike Barinholtz), is the love of her life and a surrogate father to Violet. He’s a charming dreamer who may never hit the big time, but he’s not going to give up the fight. In the end, the Harts may not have much, but they may just have everything they need. Midseason Shows “Filthy Rich” From writer/director Tate Taylor comes Filthy Rich, a southern Gothic family drama in which wealth, power and religion intersect – more correctly, collide – with outrageously soapy results. Meet the Monreauxes, a mega-rich Southern family famed for creating a wildly successful Christian television network. On the cusp of launching a digital retail arm of the company, the family’s patriarch, Eugene (Gerald McRaney), dies in a plane crash (or so we think), leaving Margaret (Kim Cattrall), a now-“Oprah” to the religious and Southern communities, to take charge of the family business. Not surprisingly, Eugene’s apparent death greatly impacts the Monreaux children: Eric (Corey Cott), the couple’s ambitious son, who assumes he will now run the show; and daughter Rose (Aubrey Dollar), a budding fashion designer, who constantly struggles to evade the vast shadow cast by her mother. If that wasn’t enough, the Monreauxes are stunned to learn that Eugene fathered three illegitimate children, all of whom are written into his will. “neXt” From creator and executive producer Manny Coto and executive producers and directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, neXt is a propulsive, fact-based thriller about the emergence of a deadly, rogue artificial intelligence, a series that asks us to look closely not only at our relationship to technology, but to one another. Silicon Valley pioneer Paul LeBlanc (John Slattery) built a fortune and legacy on the world-changing innovations he dreamed up, while ignoring and alienating the people around him, including his own daughter, Aabby (Elizabeth Cappucino), and his short-sighted younger brother, Ted (Jason Butler Harner), who now runs Paul’s company. After discovering that one of his own creations – a powerful A.I. called neXt – might spell doom for humankind, Paul tried to shutter the project, only to be kicked out of the company by his own brother, leaving him with nothing but mounting dread about the fate of the world. When a series of unsettling tech mishaps points to a potential worldwide crisis, LeBlanc joins forces with Special Agent Shea Salazar (Fernanda Andrade). “Outmatched” From writer/executive producer Lon Zimmet comes Outmathced, a multi-camera family comedy about a blue-collar couple in Atlantic City trying to raise four kids – three of whom just happen to be certified geniuses. For most parents, parenting is hard. But for Cay (Maggie Lawson), a caustic, take-no-prisoners casino pit boss, and husband Mikr (Jason Biggs), a handyman and uncultivated guy’s guy, parenting may as well be advanced calculus.<doc-sep>Fox's fall schedule includes three new series, three back-to-back sports nights and time slot changes for five returning shows. The network, newly separated from 20th Century Fox Television after the studio's sale to Disney, will end its week with "Thursday Night Football," Friday's "WWE Smackdown Live" (imported from USA Network) and Saturday's fall college football games. But its first schedule as an independent network quells fears the network would abandon scripted programming. Besides three fall newcomers, seven more sitcoms and dramas are on tap for midseason, including a spinoff of "9-1-1" set in Austin, Texas, starring Rob Lowe that's planned for January. Returning series "Last Man Standing" and "The Orville" will also wait for midseason debuts. More:Save Our Shows 2019: Which network series are returning, departing or 'on the bubble' Fall newcomers include "Not Just Me," starring Brittany Snow as an only child who discovers her fertility-doctor father (Timothy Hutton) used his own sperm to conceive more than a hundred children, and forms a bond with two sisters. Also due: "Prodigal Son," a "darkly comic" drama starring Tom Payne (“The Walking Dead”) as the son of a convicted serial killer (Michael Sheen) who makes hunting murderers his career. And in a big bet on animation, three new cartoons will hit Fox next season, including fall's "Bless the Harts," about a struggling Southern family, featuring the voices of Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Ike Barinholtz. The upcoming sixth season of "Empire" will also be the last, Fox announced Monday, likely without star Jussie Smollett after he was accused of faking an attack. "We have an option to do it, but there are no plans at this point" to include him in the final season, says Fox chief Charlie Collier, who declined to say whether the controversy led to the cancellation. The show will also return to Tuesdays along with a relocated "The Resident" as part of a significant scheduling revamp. Sunday's animation lineup will be rejiggered, with "Bob's Burgers" moving to 9 EDT/PDT and "Family Guy" sliding a half-hour later. And "9-1-1" and "Masked Singer" will move an hour earlier on Mondays and Wednesdays, respectively. "Masked Singer" was a huge hit last winter, and will be back for two more editions, the second premiering after the Super Bowl. But it has fared less favorably with other new series. Gone are freshmen "The Cool Kids," "Rel," "The Passage" and "Proven Innocent," along with "Gotham," "The Gifted" and "Star." Yet Fox is the only major broadcast network to add viewers this season, thanks mostly to the addition of the NFL and "Masked," this season's top-rated series among younger viewers. The network is averaging 5.5 million primetime TV viewers, up 10% from last season, and is up 3% among young adults. But it still ranks fourth among all viewers and is tied (with CBS) for second among the 18-to-49 crowd. Other midseason shows include "Duncanville," an animated comedy from Amy Poehler, and "Filthy Rich," a family soap starring Kim Cattrall. Fox's fall schedule All times EDT/PDT; new shows in bold; new time slots in italics Monday: 8, 9-1-1; 9, "Prodigal Son" Tuesday: 8, "The Resident"; 9, "Empire" Wednesday: 8, "The Masked Singer"; 9, "Not Just Me" Thursday: 8, "Thursday Night Football" Friday: 8, WWE's "Smackdown Live" Saturday: 8, "Fox College Football" Sunday: 7, NFL overrun; 7:30, "The OT"; 8, "The Simpsons"; 8:30, "Bless the Harts"; 9: "Bob's Burgers"; 9:30, "Family Guy"<doc-sep>
Fox’s first primetime schedule since the Disney merger leans heavily on animated, with only two new dramas and one new animated comedy premiering this fall. Here’s the schedule and descriptions of the new scripted series: FOX FALL 2019-20 SCHEDULE (New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET) MONDAY 8:00-9:00 PM — 9-1-1 9:00-10:00 PM — PRODIGAL SON TUESDAY 8:00-9:00 PM — The Resident 9:00-10:00 PM — Empire WEDNESDAY 8:00-9:00 PM — The Masked Singer 9:00-10:00 PM — NOT JUST ME THURSDAY 7:30-8:00 PM — Thursday Night Football Pregame Show 8:00 PM — NFL Football FRIDAY 8:00-10:00 PM — WWE’S Smackdown Live SATURDAY 7:00-10:30 PM — Fox Sports Saturday: Fox College Football 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 8:30-9:00 PM — BLESS THE HARTS 9:00-9:30 PM — Bob’s Burgers 9:30-10:00 PM — Family Guy NEW FALL DRAMA SERIES “NOT JUST ME” Executive producer Jason Katims and writer Annie Weisman bring you the story of an unusual family formed through extreme odds. Exploring such hot-button issues as identity, human connection and what it truly means to be a family, this unconventional dramedy taps directly into the zeitgeist, harnessing the emotional complications that new generations of IVF-bred children all face. Only child Julia Bechley (Brittany Snow) finds her life turned upside down when her father, Leon Bechley (Timothy Hutton), reveals that, over the course of his prize-winning career as a pioneering fertility doctor, he used his own sperm to conceive upwards of a hundred children. Reeling from this explosive revelation, Julia discovers two new sisters – her former best friend, Edie Palmer (Megalyn Echikunwoke), and an ex-Olympic athlete, Roxy Doyle (Emily Osment). As these three young women begin to embrace their new reality, Julia must figure out what life is like without Leon by her side; Edie comes to grips with her burgeoning sexuality, as her marriage falters; and Roxy faces adulthood out of the spotlight. Against all odds, the three women will attempt to form an untraditional bond as sisters, even as they must welcome a tidal wave of new siblings into their rapidly expanding family. The series is produced by Universal Television and Fox Entertainment EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Jason Katims, Jeni Mulein, Imogen Banks, Sharon Levy EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/WRITER: Annie Weisman EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Leslye Headland “PRODIGAL SON” From Emmy Award-nominated executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter and writers Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver, “Prodigal Son” is a fresh take on a crime franchise with a provocative and outrageous lead character and a darkly comedic tone. Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) has a gift. He knows how killers think, how their minds work. Why? Back in the 1990s, his father was one of the best, a notorious serial killer called “The Surgeon.” That’s why Bright is the best criminal psychologist around; murder is the family business. He will use his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve crimes and stop killers, all while dealing with a manipulative mother, annoyingly normal sister, a homicidal father still looking to bond with his prodigal son and his own constantly evolving neuroses. Meet the happy family. Dr. Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen) is intelligent, wealthy and charismatic, and also happens to be a predatory sociopath who killed at least 23 people. Bright’s mother, Jessica Whitly (Bellamy Young), an elegant and WASPy New Yorker, wields sarcasm like a samurai sword and has an opinion on every aspect of Bright’s life. Perhaps Bright’s only ally is his sister, Ainsly Whitly (Halston Sage), a TV journalist who wishes her brother would “take a break from murder” and have a normal life. Unfortunately for his sister, the only way Bright feels normal is by solving cases with the help of his longtime mentor, NYPD Detective Gil Arroyo (Lou Diamond Phillips). Arroyo’s one of the best detectives around, and he expects no less from his team – Detective Dani Powell (Aurora Perrineau), a headstrong no-nonsense cop who quickly becomes impressed with Bright’s work; and Detective JT Tarmel (Frank Harts), a born-and-bred New Yorker who questions whether Bright is a psychopath himself. So much for normal. PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Warner Bros. Television, Berlanti Productions, FOX Entertainment EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS/WRITERS: Chris Fedak, Sam Sklaver EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Lee Toland Krieger NEW COMEDY SERIES “BLESS THE HARTS” Created and executive-produced by Emily Spivey, “Bless The Harts” is a new half-hour animated comedy that follows the Harts, a Southern family that is always broke, and forever struggling to make ends meet.